Climate disasters are slashing up to 5 per cent from some nations’ GDP while disrupting global food supply chains and fueling inflation, even as clean energy investment reaches a record $2 trillion this year, the UN’s top climate official warned Wednesday.
Speaking at COP29 in Baku, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said “no nation is winning this fight” against increasingly brutal climate impacts, with every economy now “being besieged by climate disasters.”
“Let’s be clear: no nation is winning this fight. Every economy is being besieged by climate disasters, ripping up to 5 per cent off GDP in some countries. And it’s people and businesses that are paying the heaviest price,” Stiell told delegates at the climate summit in Azerbaijan.
The stark economic warning came as Stiell highlighted what he called an unstoppable “clean energy juggernaut,” with global investment set to reach $2 trillion in 2024. He described this trend as “just getting started,” pointing to benefits including “stronger growth, more jobs, less pollution and inflation, cheaper and cleaner energy.”
Two G20 nations—the UK and Brazil—have already signalled plans to increase their climate action commitments in their next round of national climate plans, which Stiell described as “the most important policy documents of this century.”
The UN climate chief pointed to food security as a major concern, noting that “food production and supply chains are getting slammed by climate impacts, fueling inflation and hunger, in every country.”
With increasingly severe impacts, the climate crisis is already hitting food production and supply chains hard & causing inflation.
— Simon Stiell (@simonstiell) November 19, 2024
The most vulnerable populations are affected the most.
Another reason why national climate plans must cover all sectors of the economy.#COP29 pic.twitter.com/BD87AilZmZ
Despite these challenges, Stiell emphasized that the massive scale of clean energy investment shows there’s “no stopping the clean energy juggernaut.” However, he cautioned that these economic benefits remain out of reach for many nations, stating: “Right now these vast benefits are only achievable for some. Our job is to make them achievable for all.”
The remarks came during a session focused on national climate action plans, where Stiell urged countries to deliver “bold new national climate plans” aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Show the world that transformational NDCs are not optional – they are opportunities no country can miss,” Stiell said, referring to the Nationally Determined Contributions that countries must submit under the Paris Agreement.
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