Attempts to stoke a climate crisis culture war must be rejected or the world will face economic disaster, the UN’s climate chief has warned.
Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, warned that this year’s “hot as hell” summer had killed tens of thousands of people in Europe alone and “hammered” infrastructure, businesses and economics, costing a likely €180bn (£155bn), as well as leading to forced migration around the world.
“The climate crisis is now a continent-wide economic security emergency,” he told a committee of the European parliament on Thursday morning. “We’ve seen mass evacuations. Power stations closed. And trade routes choked. Crops lost. Yields down. And food prices up – and set to rise further.”
He said political polarisation over climate action was not in the interests of voters and would lead to far worse outcomes. “Climate is sometimes seen as a partisan issue, as territory in the culture wars,” he said. “That is palpably false … Climate cuts across the core concerns of voters, whatever their politics: [affecting] family health, community safety and economic stability; affordable food and available water; jobs, business costs and household bills.”
With populist parties in the EU and around the world calling for backtracking on policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Stiell hit out at some of those politicians’ key talking points, including on migration, which he said was increasing as a result of extreme weather:
“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. The fossil fuel crisis is also pushing up the costs of government borrowing, meaning less fiscal space to deliver vital services that populations need and expect.”
Read more: The Guardian on MSN
