JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - As the Middle East war drives oil and gas prices sharply higher, the UN's top climate change official says the volatility underscored the strategic value of renewable energy.
Speaking at the 2026 Green Growth Summit in Brussels, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said the disruption of global energy supplies is being felt worldwide.
'Renewables turn the tables,' he said during a keynote address to the event, which brings together European climate and environment ministers alongside businesses, investors and other key stakeholders.
'Sunlight doesn't depend on narrow and vulnerable shipping straits, wind blows without massive taxpayer-funded naval escorts [and] renewable energy allows countries to insulate themselves from global turmoil and to side-step might-is-right politics.'
Indeed, renewable energy also delivers on people's top priorities across the continent: security, well-paid jobs, better health and relief from rising living costs, he added.
'Fossil fuel dependency is ripping away national security and sovereignty and replacing it with subservience and rising costs,' he said, adding that the reality is what most voters are demanding, climate action delivers at scale.
'Renewables and resilience keep bills down and create far more jobs,' he said.
'Cutting out fossil fuel pollution cleans our air, improving health and quality of life.'
'Some responses to the fossil fuel crisis, incredibly, argue for doubling down on the cause of the problem and slowing the shift to renewable energy even though it is clearly cheaper, safer, and faster to market', the UN Climate chief said.
'This is completely delusional because history tells us, this fossil fuel crisis will happen again and again,' Steill said, adding that fossil fuel dependency means economies, household budgets and business bottom lines are 'at the mercy of geopolitical shocks and price volatility in a chaotic world'.
He told ministers meeting in Brussels thst dependence on fossil fuel imports will leave Europe forever lurching from crisis to crisis, with households and industries literally paying the price.
The UNFCC chief noted the bloc is more reliant on fossil fuel imports than almost any other major economy, which cost the continent more than 420 billion euros in 2024 alone.
Pointing out that in 2025, renewables overtook coal as the world's top electricity source, and over $2 trillion was invested in clean energy - double that of fossil fuels - he said 'the opportunities are immense.'
As a leader in climate action and ambition, Europe's efforts, including its Emissions Trading Scheme, is driving investment and innovation, with the continent's companies at the forefront of clean industries and growth.
That includes SSAB, Maersk and Holcim, which are leaders on green steel, shipping and cement, and Siemens, Schneider and IPS, which are pioneers in wind power, energy storage and electro-tech services.
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