UN Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell has told an event in Brussels that fossil fuel dependency is “ripping away national security and sovereignty, and replacing it with subservience and rising costs”, citing the ongoing crisis in the Gulf region.
The Sustainability Online portal noted that Stiell was speaking at the Green Growth Summit in Brussels on 16 March, where he said that continued reliance on fossil fuels will expose countries to geopolitical turbulence, rising costs and long-term instability.
Europe, he noted, spent more than €420 billion on fossil fuel imports in 2024 alone, while climate extremes cost the continent €43 billion in economic losses last summer.
“Fossil fuel dependency means economies, household budgets, and business bottom lines at the mercy of geopolitical shocks and price volatility in a chaotic world,” he commented. “A world of trade turmoil, strong-arm politics, and war.”
Despite these challenges, Stiell noted that some policymakers are advocating for a “doubling-down” on fossil fuels, putting in place obstacles to the transition to renewable energy.
“This is completely delusional,” he commented. “Because history tells us, this fossil fuel crisis will happen again and again in this new world disorder where some major powers do as they please, unconstrained by economic logic or current alliances.”
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