Enviro News Asia, London – United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell has called clean energy the fastest route to energy security, sovereignty, and affordability for all nations, while warning that the global energy transition, though now irreversible following commitments made at COP30, remains far from just or universal in its reach.
Speaking at the IEA High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue during London Climate Action Week on Tuesday, Stiell said the consequences of an unequal transition are already being felt in human, economic, and political terms, and called on governments, industry, and finance to accelerate an equitable shift that benefits all countries.
“Clean energy is the fastest route to energy security, sovereignty and affordability for all. The transition is now irreversible, but it’s still far from just or global,” Stiell said.
He called for doubling down on electrification, rapidly expanding clean cooking access, and slashing methane emissions, noting that UN Secretary General António Guterres issued a methane call to action earlier the same morning given its outsized impact on limiting short-term temperature rise.
Stiell welcomed new targets announced by the COP31 Presidency, saying Türkiye’s priorities build on the six axes Brazil introduced at COP30, carrying forward to the second global stocktake at COP33. He affirmed that both the formal negotiations and the broader Action Agenda are vital, complementary tracks that must deliver real progress at COP31, COP32, and beyond.
The UN climate chief stressed the need for tight coordination among governments providing clear policy signals, industry scaling up solutions and strengthening supply chains, and finance mobilized at speed and scale, calling on all parties to make the Baku to Belém Roadmap a reality by scaling climate finance to US$1.3 trillion a year by 2035.
“Humanity and the global economy have much to gain by bringing all nations on board this transition,” Stiell said. (*)
