The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention For Climate Change, UNFCCC, Simon Stiell, says worsening climate impacts will put inflation on steroids unless every country takes bolder climate action.
Speaking to World leaders, at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Stiell said “the world used to talk about climate action as being mostly about saving future generations. But there has been a seismic shift in the global climate crisis, because the climate crisis is fast becoming an economy-killer.”
According to him, Climate impacts are carving up to 5% off GDP in many countries.
He described the climate crisis as a cost-of-living crisis because climate disasters are driving up costs for households and businesses.
The Executive Secretary appealed to world leaders to avoid making another mistake and learn the lessons from the pandemic, “when billions suffered because we didn’t take the collective action fast enough, when supply chains were smashed“. Climate finance is global inflation insurance. He said.
Stiell urged leaders to make rampant climate costs public enemy number one, noting that letting this issue languish halfway down cabinet agendas is a recipe for disaster. “But this isn’t just about saving your economies and your people. Bolder climate action can drive economic opportunity and abundance everywhere. Cheap, clean energy can be the bedrock of your economies. It means more jobs, more growth, less pollution choking cities, healthier citizens and stronger businesses.” He asserted.
He said billions of people cannot afford for their government to leave COP29 without a global climate finance goal. and called on leaders here and back in capitals to make it clear that that they expect a strong set of outcomes.
The UNFCCC boss also called on World Leaders t0 move directly to finding common ground “Right now, today, in this political cycle”.
