{"id":335192,"date":"2026-03-18T05:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T05:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/335192\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T05:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T05:22:12","slug":"war-driven-energy-price-spikes-highlight-value-of-renewables-un-climate-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/335192\/","title":{"rendered":"War-driven energy price spikes highlight value of renewables: UN climate chief"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking at the 2026 Green Growth Summit in Brussels, Simon Stiell<\/a>, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC<\/a>), said the volatility underscored the strategic value of renewable energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenewables turn the tables,\u201d he said during a keynote address to the event, which brings together European climate and environment ministers alongside businesses, investors and other key stakeholders.<\/p>\n

\u201cSunlight doesn\u2019t depend on narrow and vulnerable shipping straits, wind blows without massive taxpayer-funded naval escorts [and] renewable energy allows countries to insulate themselves from global turmoil and to side-step might-is-right politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, renewable energy also delivers on people\u2019s top priorities across the continent: security, well-paid jobs, better health and relief from rising living costs, he added.<\/p>\n

Fossil fuel dependency<\/p>\n

\u201cFossil fuel dependency is ripping away national security and sovereignty and replacing it with subservience and rising costs,\u201d he said, adding that the reality is what most voters are demanding, climate action delivers at scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenewables and resilience keep bills down and create far more jobs,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fossil fuel dependency is ripping away national security and sovereignty<\/p>\n

\u201cCutting out fossil fuel pollution cleans our air, improving health and quality of life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Destined to repeat<\/p>\n

\u201cSome responses to the fossil fuel crisis, incredibly, argue for doubling down on the cause of the problem and slowing the shift to renewable energy even though it is clearly cheaper, safer, and faster to market,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is completely delusional because history tells us, this fossil fuel crisis will happen again and again,\u201d Mr. Steill said, adding that fossil fuel dependency means economies, household budgets and business bottom lines are \u201cat the mercy of geopolitical shocks and price volatility in a chaotic world\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His message to ministers meeting in Brussels was simple: Meek dependence on fossil fuel imports will leave Europe forever lurching from crisis to crisis, with households and industries literally paying the price.<\/p>\n

The UNFCC chief noted the bloc is more reliant on fossil fuel imports than almost any other major economy, which cost the continent over \u20ac420 billion in 2024 alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Immense\u2019 opportunities<\/p>\n

Pointing out that in 2025, renewables overtook coal as the world\u2019s top electricity source, and over $2 trillion was invested in clean energy \u2013 double that of fossil fuels \u2013 he said \u201cthe opportunities are immense.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a leader in climate action and ambition, Europe\u2019s efforts, including its Emissions Trading Scheme, is driving investment and innovation, with the continent\u2019s companies at the forefront of clean industries and growth.<\/p>\n

That includes SSAB, Maersk and Holcim, which are leaders on green steel, shipping and cement, and Siemens, Schneider and IPS, which are pioneers in wind power, energy storage and electro-tech services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Investment goldmine<\/p>\n

\u201cEurope can permanently seize the multi-trillion-euro goldmine of investment that\u2019s just getting started by embracing green growth, drawing on your many strengths, [including] education, strong institutions, smart regulation, social justice and innovation and intellectual property, and by backing it up with plans and policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last century, \u200bwhen \u200ba continent reeling from war came together to build the foundations of integration, energy was top of the list because countries understood that secure and affordable supplies, achieved through cooperation, were the basis of peace and prosperity, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, these truths are more important than ever,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speaking at the 2026 Green Growth Summit in Brussels, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[273,111,139,69,147],"class_list":{"0":"post-335192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}