{"id":470654,"date":"2026-09-13T10:23:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T17:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=470654"},"modified":"2026-09-13T10:23:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T17:23:35","slug":"un-climate-chief-the-climate-crisis-is-now-a-continent-wide-economic-security-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=470654","title":{"rendered":"UN Climate Chief: \u201cthe climate crisis is now a continent-wide economic security emergency\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He forgot to add words like \u201csuper\u201d and \u201capocalyptic\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UN Climate Chief: \u201cthe climate crisis is now a continent-wide economic security emergency\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

10 September 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following is a transcript of a speech delivered by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday 10 September 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Thank you for this opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate is sometimes seen as a partisan issue: as territory in culture wars. That is palpably false.<\/strong> And we\u2019ve just seen why: Europe\u2019s summer has been hot as hell. This is the price of global fossil fuel addiction hitting home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it shows both that the climate crisis is now a continent-wide economic security emergency. And that doubling-down on Europe\u2019s longstanding climate leadership is entirely in the continent\u2019s best interest.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This summer\u2019s climate-driven extreme heat has killed tens of thousands of people, and hammered Europe\u2019s infrastructure, businesses, and economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve seen mass evacuations. Power stations closed.<\/strong> And trade routes choked. Crops lost. Yields down. And food prices up \u2013 and set to rise further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere, horrifying floods have ripped through the Himalayas.<\/strong> In North Africa, devastating heat has meant lost lives, power outages, water shortages, and economies slowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many places, climate impacts are fueling forced migration \u2013 internally and across national borders \u2013 taking a dire human toll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the costs of the climate crisis are spiraling. Disasters are pushing up insurance premiums. Leaving some entirely uninsurable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One study calculates this summer\u2019s extremes will cost Europe 180 billion euros \u2013 in lost labour productivity, and disruption to food, energy and transport. That\u2019s equivalent to carving a full percentage point from European GDP \u2013 the same amount the EU economy is forecast to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wonder some EU member states are calling for a dedicated climate adaptation fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU\u2019s summer of hellish heat comes on top of the ongoing fossil fuel cost crisis \u2013 and both are driving up prices for households, businesses and governments, in a deathly double-blow. Dependence on volatile fossil fuel imports has long been an economic Achilles\u2019 heel for Europe.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year \u2013 again \u2013 households and businesses have been hit with higher bills. Now, another European winter fuel crisis is looming<\/strong>, due to fossil fuel dependency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increasingly, to be soft on climate action is to be soft on inflation and the cost of living, soft on sovereignty and security, and soft on economic growth and jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fossil fuel cost crisis is also pushing up the costs of government borrowing, meaning less fiscal space to deliver vital services that populations need and expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understandably, Europe wants to insulate itself from volatile fossil fuel costs you cannot control.  Understandably, Europe wants affordability, economic stability, energy security, and policy-making autonomy. Clean energy is the surest path to deliver, cheaply and safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to growing investment, renewables now provide around half of Europe\u2019s power. In the first six months of this Middle East conflict, solar alone saved Europe more than 30 billion euros in avoided gas imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you have so much more to gain from accelerating the shift to clean energy \u2013 across this continent and the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clean tech boom is already driving European growth, jobs and living standards: Your companies are at the forefront of some key clean industries. The opportunities will only grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And some countries developing national transition plans will reap particularly strong benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globally, over 2 trillion dollars was invested in clean energy last year \u2013 double fossil fuel investment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As all countries at COP30 said: the move to clean energy is now irreversible. That means a goldmine of jobs and commercial opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By standing firm behind your climate policies, going further, and backing clean, resilient growth. You can better position Europe to thrive. Locking-in higher living standards \u2013 now and in the long-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colleagues,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s clear: Climate cuts across the core concerns of voters, whatever their politics: Family health, community safety and economic stability. Affordable food and available water. Jobs, business costs, and household bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s entirely in Europe\u2019s interests to stand firm behind climate action \u2013 and to boost it: To build resilience to climate impacts \u2013 protecting global supply chains, on which all economies depend. And to slash global emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If humanity doesn\u2019t cut the fossil fuel pollution baking our planet, this summer\u2019s brutal heat, fires and droughts will seem mild compared to the permanent climate nightmare that will follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have made progress but still not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without UN-convened climate cooperation, humanity would be heading for unsurvivable global heating well over 4 degrees Celsius. With it, current policies are taking us to a 2.6 degree temperature rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a long way from the 1.5 degree limit demanded by science to avert the worst climate impacts, and agreed among nations, time and time again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent report from the UN Environment Programme reaffirms that this limit will now be breached. But the report is equally clear: that this can and must be temporary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerted global action can bring the temperature rise back down to 1.5 degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, Europe has been a climate leader. And a champion of multilateralism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You were instrumental in building the international climate system, and the Paris Agreement \u2013 at the 21st UN Climate Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe\u2019s continued leadership is essential \u2013 including in supporting vulnerable nations.<\/strong> And it\u2019s entirely in the interests of Europe\u2019s people and economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All nations win by avoiding a two-speed global transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need you working in partnership. Forging international alliances that secure supply chains for clean energy and new industries. And continuing to deliver on your current climate finance pledges \u2013 boosting quality and access, building on existing work \u2013 which strengthens trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No single COP can solve the climate crisis overnight, but each moves global efforts forward \u2013 building on the last, and looking to the next: From a global agreement in Dubai to transition away from all fossil fuels. To a new climate finance goal in Baku. And steps forward on a just transition in Belem, which ushered in the era of implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ask the EU to throw itself behind helping COP31 in T\u00fcrkiye to deliver further progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need now is not to re-open decisions already taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s delivering what\u2019s already been agreed: Countries implementing their plans and targets, and striving to do better, where domestic conditions allow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the second global stocktake of climate action in 2028, we must be much closer to meeting the global commitments made at the first. Laying the ground for greater ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s negotiations can help support implementation: across mitigation, adaptation and finance \u2013 including quality and access to finance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, through developing the just transition mechanism \u2013 to support countries deliver fair transitions that create opportunities for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ask the EU to come to T\u00fcrkiye prepared to find solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means spending time considering what you would like the outcomes to include. And what others need from COP31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It means forging compromises. And developing a clear plan on how to use the spaces we\u2019ve created together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That includes the Global Climate Action Agenda. Which is key to turning targets into results. Accelerating real economy action. And supporting countries to implement their national adaptation plans and NDCs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Turkish COP31 Presidency, working closely with Australia, has set key Action Agenda targets, including 35% of final global energy demand met by electricity by 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU is already making gains here. And you have ambitious electrification targets. Around one in four new cars sold in Europe is now electric. And battery deployment is now accelerating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s in your interests to push forward. And to drive progress in other areas where the impact and urgency are greatest: Methane \u2013 a super pollutant crucial to reducing near-term heating and cutting costs. Food waste and security, as climate-driven droughts hit crops and food prices. And building the resilience of cities to climate extremes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These topics strike at the heart of everyday concerns of people across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colleagues,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We live in a polarized age: But inflation is a common enemy, security is a common cause. Health, jobs, community and prosperity matter to us all. And every one of them demands action on climate.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: https:\/\/unfccc.int\/news\/un-climate-chief-the-climate-crisis-is-now-a-continent-wide-economic-security-emergency<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In my opinion the claim the climate movement is not a partisan issue is absurd<\/strong>, because the climate movement is rebadged communism. When the Soviet Union fell, the last dictator of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev<\/a> rallied and restored hope to his bereft Western Soviet communism groupies by launching \u201cGreen Cross International<\/a>\u201d at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. For a while the green camouflage might have fooled a few conservatives, but Climategate<\/a> ripped away the disguise, by revealing the intense politicisation of the scientists pushing the crisis narrative, and the dirty tricks employed to try to silence critics and competing narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon Stiell mentioned power plant closures. As we recently discussed on WUWT, the power plant closures in most cases were not because of the heat, they were because Europe ran short of water. And the cause of that water shortage disaster was long term chronic underinvestment in water infrastructure, which even the EU admits is a problem. Yes the drought put pressure on the system \u2013 but I would argue failure to invest in resilience was the real problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Claim: Solar saved the day when Heatwaves Forced Shutdowns of European Nuclear Plants<\/a><\/blockquote>