The secretary general of the United Nations has told world leaders humanity must stop treating nature "like a toilet".
In a hard-hitting speech opening the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow António Guterres said "addiction" to fossil fuels was "pushing humanity to the brink".
Mr Guterres, who has held the position since 2017, said that some signs of progress were encouraging – and threw his support behind a "climate action army led by young people" – who he dubbed "unstoppable".
But the former Portuguese prime minister warned that current commitments by the nations attending the conference were not enough to avert catastrophe.
"We are still heading for climate disaster," he said. "Recent climate action announcements might give the impression that we are on track to turn things around. This is an illusion."
He told the audience of world leaders, including Boris Johnson: “Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. We face a stark choice: Either we stop it — or it stops us.
“It’s time to say: enough. Enough of brutalising biodiversity. Enough of killing ourselves with carbon. Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper,” said Mr Guterres, adding: “We are digging our own graves.”
Mr Guterres added: “The last published report on Nationally Determined Contributions showed that they would still condemn the world to a calamitous 2.7 degree increase.
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World news in pictures 31 October 2021
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World news in pictures 30 October 2021 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, center, pumps fists with French President Emmanuel Macron, left, during a group photo with medical personnel at the La Nuvola conference center for the G20 summit in Rome
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World news in pictures 29 October 2021 Wreckage of cars are seen at a dealership burned down by protesters during the July unrest in Manzini,
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World news in pictures 28 October 2021 Sudanese protesters living in Lebanon carry placards and shout slogans during a protest to show solidarity with the Sudanese people in front of the Sudanese embassy in Beirut
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World news in pictures 27 October 2021 Workers operate a bulldozer off Gaza City beach to set up stilts in the Mediterranean sea to build a coffee shop
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World news in pictures 26 October 2021 Sudanese youths flash victory signs by a roadblock made of buring tyres in the capital Khartoum as they protest a military coup that overthrew the transition to civilian rule
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World news in pictures 25 October 2021 An honour guard soldier wearing a protective mask stands at attention, as seen through the eternal flame, at the Unknown Soldier Memorial, during the Romanian Army Day celebration, in Bucharest, Romania
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World news in pictures 24 October 2021 A runner warms up ahead of the annual Hong Kong Marathon
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World news in pictures 23 October 2021 Participant Norbert Dopf from Austria arrives for the German Moustache and Beard Championships 2021 at Pullman City Western Theme Park in Eging am See, Germany
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World news in pictures 22 October 2021 People gather in a mosque in the capital Tehran to perform the Friday prayers, for the first time after authorities eased some restrictions put in place for over a year in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus
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World news in pictures 21 October 2021 A woman disguised as Catrina is pictured next to decorations with Cempazuchitl -Mexican Marigold (Tagetes erecta)- set along the Paseo de la Reforma avenue within preparations for the Day of the Dead celebration, in Mexico City
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World news in pictures 20 October 2021 A worker wearing personal protective equipment sanitises seats inside a movie theatre ahead of its reopening in Mumbai, India
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World news in pictures 19 October 2021 Flame handover ceremony in Athens for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Panathenaic Stadium, Athens. Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of High Priestess lights the torch with the flame during the ceremony
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World news in pictures 18 October 2021 A 900-year-old sword believed to have belonged to a crusader who sailed to the Holy Land has been found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel
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World news in pictures 17 October 2021 People pose nude for American artist Spencer Tunick as part of an installation in the desert near the Dead Sea, in Arad, Israel
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World news in pictures 16 October 2021 Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and outgoing German chancellor Angela Merkel on their final official meeting in Istanbul
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World news in pictures 15 October 2021 Hot air balloons fly over a forest at sunrise in the area of Saint-Emilion, southern France
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World news in pictures 14 October 2021 A man walks past a sculpture of a giant potato in the village of Xylofagou, which is renowned for its potato production, in southeastern Cyprus
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World news in pictures 13 October 2021 French President Emmanuel Macron (R) greets President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris
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World news in pictures 12 October 2021 French firefighters protect a painting during a fire drill inside Saint-Andre cathedral
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World news in pictures 11 October 2021 A rider competes during the Rally of Morocco 2021
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World news in pictures 10 October 2021 An Indian family rides on a motorcycle as they protect themselves with an umbrella during heavy rain, in Chennai, India
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World news in pictures 9 October 2021 Afghan children who were displaced from other parts of the country live in temporary shelters at a camp in Kabul, Afghanistan,
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World news in pictures 8 October 2021 Rescue personnel at the scene where bamboo scaffolding by a high-rise residential building collapsed onto a road, following strong winds and heavy rain from weather patterns from a tropical storm, in Hong Kong
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World news in pictures 7 October 2021 Supporters of the Congress of South African Trade Unions sing and dance at the National stayaway protest at the Fitzgerald square in Johannesburg to protest the economic policies, wages, as well as high unemployment rates in the country
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World news in pictures 6 October 2021 Members of a Chinese opera troupe wearing protective masks prepare before performing at a shrine during the annual vegetarian festival in Bangkok, Thailand
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World news in pictures 5 October 2021 A woman holds a banner reading "Social" as people take part in a demonstration called by French unions as part of a nation-wide day for better working conditions
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World news in pictures 4 October 2021 A boy wears a float as he swims in floodwaters in a neighbourhood in Ayutthaya, after tropical storm Dianmu caused flooding in 31 provinces across Thailand
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World news in pictures 3 October 2021 Firefighters work in a building that was crashed into by a small private plane in the San Donato Milanese district of Milan
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World news in pictures 2 October 2021 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks to the media after Philippine Senator Christopher "Bong" Go filed his certificate of candidacy to join the vice presidential race, at Sofitel Harbor Garden Tent, in Pasay City, Metro Manila
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World news in pictures 1 October 2021 A Palestinian protester smashes an Israeli drone that reportedly fell because of a technical failure, during a demonstration against settlements in the West Bank village of Beita
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World news in pictures 30 September 2021 The surface of Spain's La Palma island is continuing to expand as lava from a volcano flows into the Atlantic Ocean and hardens when it comes into contact with the water, European Union scientists said Thursday.
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World news in pictures 29 September 2021 Pope Francis meets a group of seminarians during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican
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World news in pictures 28 September 2021 People camp overnight to receive a dose of Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine at a government run district hospital at midnight in Siliguri
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World news in pictures 27 September 2021 People ride a motorcycle past burning tires during protests against the deteriorating economic situation and the devaluation of the local currency, in Taiz, Yemen
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World news in pictures 26 September 2021 Absentee ballots for the German general election are counted at the Frankfurt Messe hall Frankfurt am Main
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World news in pictures 25 September 2021 Thai anti-government protesters have their eyes flushed out after being teargassed by police during a rally in Bangkok, Thailand
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World news in pictures 24 September 2021 German Chancellor Angela Merkel feeds Australian lorikeets at Marlow Bird Park in Marlow, Germany
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World news in pictures 23 September 2021 Workers sing and dance as a South African Airways airplane prepares to take off after a year-long hiatus triggered by the national airline running out of funds, at O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg
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World news in pictures 22 September 2021 Seized rhino horns burn on a furnace in an anti-poaching drive to mark World Rhino Day near the Kaziranga National Park in Bokakhat
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World news in pictures 21 September 2021 The full moon sets behind the hills of the Taunus region near Wehrheim, Germany
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World news in pictures 20 September 2021 A house burns due to lava from the eruption of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at Los Llanos de Aridane, on the Canary Island of La Palma
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World news in pictures 19 September 2021 Smoke and magma rise to the sky from the volcanic eruption in El Paso, La Palma, Canary Islands
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World news in pictures 18 September 2021 The fully wrapped Arc de Triomphe monument, as part of an art installation entitled 'L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped' conceived by the late artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, is pictured on the Champs Elysees avenue in Pari
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World news in pictures 17 September 2021 An Indonesian activist from ECOTON (ecological observation and wetland conservation) prepares an installation made with used plastic, including 4,444 bottles, collected from the river in Gresik to raise public awareness of plastic waste in rivers and oceans
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World news in pictures 16 September 2021 An activist places photos of German politicians outside the Bundestag in protest against human rights violations at Europe's borders
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World news in pictures 15 September 2021 A zebra family at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata
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World news in pictures 14 September 2021 A woman walks past a fruits and vegetables stall in a flooded street in Codognan, in the Occitanie region of southern France, following heavy rains
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World news in pictures 17 October 2021 People pose nude for American artist Spencer Tunick as part of an installation in the desert near the Dead Sea, in Arad, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. About 300 participants took part in the nude photo installation designed to draw world attention to the importance of preserving and restoring the Dead Sea. (AP Photo/Ariel Scha
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World news in pictures 13 September 2021 People hold umbrellas amid rainfall as Typhoon Chanthu approaches, in Shanghai, China
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"And even if the recent pledges were clear and credible — and there are serious questions about some of them — we are still careening towards climate catastrophe. Even in the best-case scenario, temperatures will rise well above two degrees."
He also pointed out that the years since the last crucial COP summit in Paris 2015 “have been the six hottest years on record”.
Leaders have gathered in Glasgow with the aim of thrashing out national contributions to the fight against carbon emissions – but scientists are sceptical they will go far enough to hit crucial targets.
Boris Johnson gave a keynote speech at the opening of the meeting on Monday in which he warned that future generations would react with anger if leaders did not turn the situation around.