UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has urged governments to tax windfall profits of fossil-fuel companies to help vulnerable developing countries recover from climate disasters.

Guterres made the call at the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Türkiye, where he proposed a new global Climate Justice Compact.

He warned that greenhouse gas emissions reached record levels in 2025, while extreme weather continued to threaten livelihoods, economies and development.

The UN chief said exceeding the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree warming threshold was now inevitable, but governments could still limit the severity and duration of the overshoot.

“The brutal truth is that the climate crisis is outrunning us,” Guterres declared.

He identified accelerating the transition from fossil fuels, protecting vulnerable populations, expanding climate finance and strengthening international cooperation as four priorities.

The secretary-general said developing economies outside China accounted for nearly two-thirds of humanity but received less than one-fifth of global clean-energy investment.

He warned that many developing countries faced borrowing costs two to three times higher than those confronting wealthier economies.

“We need an extraordinary acceleration,” he said, calling for more ambitious emissions reductions and investment in renewable energy.

Guterres urged developed countries to deliver at least 300 billion dollars annually in climate finance by 2035 and establish credible plans to increase adaptation funding.

He also demanded that the broader 1.3 trillion dollars climate-financing goal translate into accessible financial resources for developing countries.

The UN chief said the nine largest oil companies earned approximately 95 billion dollars in profits during the previous quarter, while the Loss and Damage Fund had received around 600 million dollars.

“Polluters must pay,” he declared, urging governments to channel windfall-profit taxes towards communities suffering climate-related losses.

Guterres also called on multilateral development banks to increase lending, mobilise private investment and expand financing instruments suited to vulnerable economies.

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell similarly warned that volatile energy markets and climate disasters were increasing inflation and putting pressure on government budgets.

“The political costs of fossil fuel dependency are unforgiving,” Stiell said, urging leaders to convert national climate commitments into practical investments, including electricity access, adaptation measures and more affordable financing.

The summit, hosted by Türkiye, forms part of COP31, scheduled from November 9 to 20, with negotiations focusing on emissions reductions, climate resilience and implementation of earlier commitments.

The financing proposals carry particular significance for African countries confronting energy poverty, climate vulnerability, infrastructure deficits and rising debt-servicing costs.