The costs of the climate crisis are now reaching national emergency levels, the UN’s climate chief Simon Stiell said on Tuesday. "The climate alarm is blaring, from every direction."
Global Disasters Intensify
Stiell highlighted record-breaking wildfires tearing through France, Spain and other parts of Europe, forcing mass evacuations and hammering regional and national economies. These follow brutal heatwaves that have dried out landscapes. "With the mercury set to soar again this week, the awful costs of this climate crisis – both human and economic – are now reaching national emergency levels," he said.
Worldwide Impacts
The whole globe is suffering the impacts of global heating. Stiell noted: "In North Africa, temperatures are approaching 49°C, putting lives and livelihoods in grave jeopardy. In Chile, deadly storms have destroyed homes and lives. While in Japan, records are tumbling as temperatures soar." He called these spiraling disasters the lived reality for billions in a world getting rapidly hotter.
Urgent Action Needed
"The science on the cause is unequivocal: global heating is making protracted heatwaves, severe floods and violent mega-storms more frequent, more intense and more costly. What needs to be done is equally clear: leave coal, oil and gas behind faster, scale up renewables, and protect people where the impacts are already hitting hardest," Stiell said.
