United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said a clean energy future is “within reach” but cautioned that accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels will require a system-wide transformation, reports ANI


Speaking at the Global AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Guterres said he had met leaders from across India’s renewable energy ecosystem spanning industry, finance, policy and civil society and found broad agreement on the urgency of transition.


“The message was clear: The clean energy future is within reach but we need a system-wide transformation to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels,” he said.


The UN chief also called for harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for global good while warning that innovation is moving faster than governance structures. He urged countries to cooperate despite rising technological rivalry and strained international trust.


“We are barrelling into the unknown. AI innovation is moving at the speed of light, outpacing our collective ability to fully understand it,” he said. “If we want AI to serve humanity, policy cannot be built on guesswork. It cannot be built on hype or disinformation. We need facts we can trust and share across countries and across sectors. Less noise, more knowledge.”


Highlighting the United Nations’ initiatives, Guterres referred to the recently constituted Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, comprising 40 experts confirmed by the UN General Assembly. The panel aims to close knowledge gaps, assess AI’s economic and societal impacts, and provide a shared scientific baseline for global policy coordination.


The first report of the panel is expected ahead of a global dialogue on AI governance scheduled for July. Guterres described science-led governance as an accelerator for solutions that can make technological progress safer, fairer and more widely shared.


The India AI Impact Summit brought together policymakers, industry leaders, academics and civil society representatives to deliberate on the future of artificial intelligence and its intersection with sustainable development.