United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has called for an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels, warning that dependence on them carries a heavy economic and security cost, alongside its impact on the climate crisis.At the COP31 climate summit, the UN chief said countries must move beyond discussions on the energy transition and focus on organising, financing and delivering it.Guterres warned that the climate crisis was advancing faster than global efforts to address it, while fossil fuel interests continued to profit at the expense of the planet.“The climate crisis is outrunning us,” he said, adding that the world must intensify its efforts rather than surrender in the fight for the future of the planet and coming generations.In another post on X on Wednesday, Guterres said the ongoing crisis in the Middle East had exposed the economic and security risks of relying on fossil fuels. He stressed that moving away from them was essential to building cleaner, more secure economies that are less vulnerable to global shocks.“Fossil fuels are not only driving the climate crisis. Dependence on them carries a steep economic & security price, as the crisis in the Middle East has shown. An accelerated transition away from fossil fuels is fundamental to building economies that are cleaner, more secure & less exposed to shocks.”