Failure to address climate crisis 'will never be forgiven', summit is warned

Governments failing to shift to a low-carbon economy will be blamed for famine and conflict abroad, and will face stagnation and rising inflation at home, the UN's climate chief said yesterday at the start of the Cop30 climate talks in Brazil.

- Fiona Harvey

Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCC), addressed the gathering of ministers and high-ranking officials from nearly 200 countries in a stark portrayal of the price of failure on the climate crisis.

“Not one single nation among you can afford this, as climate disasters rip double digits off GDP,” he said. “To falter whilst mega droughts wreck national harvests, sending food prices soaring, makes zero sense economically and politically. To squabble while famines take hold, forcing millions to flee their homelands, this will never be forgotten as conflicts spread.”

He told the opening meeting of the UN summit: “When climate disasters decimate the lives of millions, when we already have the solutions, this will never, ever be forgiven.”

The two weeks of talks, hosted in the Amazonian city of Belém, will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, setting a path for the transition away from fossil fuels, and providing the finance to protect poor countries against extreme weather.