UN chief says fossil fuels ‘incompatible with human survival,’ calls for credible exit strategy

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The head of the United Nations attacked fossil fuel companies Thursday, accusing them of betraying future generations and undermining efforts to phase out a product he called “incompatible with human survival.” Secretary-General António Guterres also dismissed suggestions by some oil executives — including the man tapped to chair this year’s international climate talks in Dubai — that fossil fuel firms can keep up production if they find a way to capture carbon emissions. It’s not the first time the U.N. chief has called out Big Oil over its role in causing global warming. But the blunt attack reflects growing frustration at the industry’s recent profit bonanza despite warnings from scientists that burning fossil fuels will push the world beyond any safe climate threshold.