High fossil fuel prices spread inflation ‘like a cancer’, UN climate negotiator tells Cop31
At the opening plenary of the Cop31 climate summit in Turkey, the United Nations’ chief climate negotiator, Simon Stiell, warned delegates that a global fossil fuel price crisis is spreading inflation “like a cancer” across the planet. Stiell, alongside host nation Turkey and Australia—which is leading the negotiations under climate change minister Chris Bowen—advocated for rapid electrification and renewables over oil, coal, and gas. The economic urgency has been sharpened by a 50% surge in global petrol prices following US President Donald Trump’s war with Iraq and disruptions along the Strait of Hormuz supply route.
The two-week conference brings together delegates from nearly 200 countries, including at least 95 heads of state and an estimated 100,000 visitors. The talks open against a backdrop of acute environmental disasters, including an intense El Niño and a catastrophic glacier collapse in Nepal and Tibet that killed at least 1,459 people, with thousands more still missing. Furthermore, climate scientists confirmed global heating will reach at least 1.8C, overshooting the 1.5C target established in the 2015 Paris agreement. Johan Rockström of the Potsdam Institute warned that breaching this limit within three to five years represents a global failure, prompting vulnerable nations to demand swift delivery of long-delayed climate finance.
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