UN Climate Chief: World is 'Strangled' by Fossil Fuels Amidst Economic Instability

The head of the UN Climate Secretariat, Simon Stiell, has called for an accelerated shift to renewable energy sources, warning that the world remains under the "stranglehold" of fossil fuels. Speaking at the start of a ten-day climate conference in Bonn, Germany, Stiell highlighted the immense human suffering caused by the war in the Middle East, which he said is triggering a cost crisis for fossil fuels that is gripping economies globally.

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The war in the Middle East is causing immense human suffering and triggering a cost crisis for fossil fuels that is gripping economies everywhere.

"It is crystal clear: continuing our dependence on fossil fuels means continuing to import inflation and economic instability," Stiell stated. He urged the international community to advance climate policy more decisively and rapidly, stressing the need to fully implement commitments made under the Paris Agreement and its associated plans. Stiell described tackling the global climate crisis as humanity's most difficult, yet most crucial, shared task.

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It is crystal clear: continuing our dependence on fossil fuels means continuing to import inflation and economic instability.

The Bonn conference, hosted by Germany, is the largest regular UN conference held in the country, drawing 6,500 delegates from governments, academia, business, and civil society representing nearly all UN member states. Its primary objective is to lay the groundwork for the next World Climate Conference, scheduled to take place later this year in Antalya, Turkey.

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We must finally go further and faster in climate policy. We must fully implement our commitments under the Paris Agreement and the plans decided within the framework of the agreement.