The UN climate body's executive secretary, Simon Stiell, stated that the human and economic costs of the climate crisis are reaching national emergency levels. He urged countries to accelerate the transition away from coal, oil, and gas.
The escalating costs and frequency of climate-driven disasters underscore the urgent need for global action on climate change, impacting economies, infrastructure, and human lives, and necessitating a faster shift to renewable energy sources.
The human and economic toll of the climate crisis has escalated to national emergency levels, prompting calls for a more rapid transition away from fossil fuels, according to Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN climate body.
Stiell described climate-driven disasters, such as the severe wildfires in France and Spain, as reaching "nightmare proportions." He noted that the costs associated with the world's reliance on coal, oil, and gas are rapidly increasing.
Record-breaking wildfires have swept through parts of Europe, forcing mass evacuations and severely impacting economies. These events follow brutal heatwaves that have left landscapes parched. Last month was the second-warmest June globally and the hottest June on record for western Europe, according to the EU's Copernicus programme. This trend indicates a climate system that continues to accumulate heat, leading to more intense heatwaves, persistently warm oceans, and heightened risks to people, ecosystems, and infrastructure.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the current fires are the most severe the country has experienced since World War II, with 116,000 hectares burned this year. Spanish President Pedro Sanchez reported that his country is battling 10 major fires, having lost approximately 170,000 hectares to wildfires, a six-fold increase compared to the same period last year.
Wildfires are a significant source of atmospheric pollution, including CO2 emissions. In 2025, European fire emissions reached a record high, with Spain accounting for about half of the total, according to the European State of the Climate report. Furthermore, wildfires reduce the capacity of forests to absorb CO2.
"The science on the cause is unequivocal: global heating, driven by humanity burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, is making protracted heatwaves, severe floods and violent mega-storms more frequent, more intense and more costly," Stiell said. He emphasized that the solution is equally clear: "leave coal, oil and gas behind faster, scale up renewables and protect people where the impacts are already hitting hardest."