By 2040, wealthy countries must achieve net zero carbon emissions.

In order to "defuse the climate time bomb," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged wealthy nations to accelerate their plans to become carbon neutral by 2040, primarily from 2050 now.

Guterres gave a direct assessment of the difficulty of averting a climate catastrophe while introducing a capstone report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the impacts and trajectory of global warming.

The IPCC experts group released their most recent report today, which the UN chief compared to "a survival guide for humanity," saying that "Humanity is on thin ice — and that ice is melting fast."

According to Guterres, there is still time for the world to limit average temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times, but doing so will require "a quantum leap in climate action" from all nations across all sectors.

Guterres stated that "it starts with parties immediately hitting the fast-forward button on their net zero deadlines," but he acknowledged that different nations have varying degrees of responsibility and flexibility.

He argued that wealthy nations should make a commitment to becoming carbon neutral as soon as possible after 2040, which he called "the limit they should all aim to respect."

Currently, the majority of wealthy nations have set their sights on 2050, but some are more ambitious, such as Finland (2035), Germany, and Sweden (2045).

Without mentioning any particular country, he said that leaders of emerging economies needed to make a commitment to achieving net zero as soon as possible in 2050. Major nations in this category, such as China and India, have established longer-term objectives (2070).

The role of the Group of 20, which consists of the 20 largest economies in the world and Europe, was emphasized once more by Guterres, who will host a climate action summit in September. The Group of 20 economies and Europe collectively account for 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions.