UN Climate Change Executive Secretary calls for faster global energy transition to strengthen security, resilience

NEW YORK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 24th Jul, 2026) UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell has called for faster global action to accelerate the energy transition, expand renewable energy and mobilise investment, saying clean energy is central to growth, jobs and stronger security.

Delivering remarks during the General Assembly Informal Interactive Dialogue, “Accelerating the Global Energy Transition: Advancing Renewables and Mobilising Investment,” on Friday, Stiell said recent conflicts had exposed the risks of reliance on fossil fuels by disrupting global energy markets and pushing up prices for billions of people.

He said conflict, economic downturns and climate-related shocks had also dealt a triple blow to food security, with higher food prices and worsening scarcity threatening the most vulnerable.

Stiell warned that continued dependence on coal, oil and gas creates economic uncertainty, unnecessary costs and conflict, while a warming planet undermines peace and stability through hunger, displacement and scarcity.

He said building resilience to escalating climate disasters must happen alongside accelerating the energy transition, adding that renewables are cheaper, more accessible and faster to deploy.

The global energy transition, he said, is now irreversible, but must become faster to meet the demands of science, fairer so every nation benefits, and just for countries and communities historically dependent on fossil fuel revenues.

Stiell said renewables, electrification and energy efficiency must advance together across countries and industries. He pointed to commitments made at COP28 to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.

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He stressed that climate cooperation is essential to delivering those goals, including regional cooperation through cross-border connections, power pools and common standards, as well as global cooperation convened by the United Nations.

Stiell also highlighted the role of the Global Climate Action Agenda in bringing together governments, businesses, investors and civil society to turn commitments into real projects. He noted that the incoming COP Presidency, Türkiye, had announced Action Agenda targets, including a global electrification target of 35 percent by 2035.

Finance, he said, is essential for countries to benefit from the energy transition and build resilience. He urged developed countries to honour commitments to triple adaptation finance and deliver US$300 billion per year by 2035, as part of a clear pathway to scaling up to US$1.3 trillion annually.

Stiell also called on multilateral development banks to expand concessional finance, guarantees and policy-based lending, and to support countries in strengthening grids, improving policies and regulation, and building pipelines of bankable projects.

He said climate should be embedded across the United Nations’ work on development, security and economic resilience, adding that faster energy transitions are increasingly central to national security strategies.

“Doubling down on renewables and resilience is in every country’s interests,” he said, adding that action now is the basis for long-term peace and security around the world.