The following is a transcript of a speech delivered by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday 10 September 2026.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Climate is sometimes seen as a partisan issue: as territory in culture wars. That is palpably false. And we've just seen why: Europe's summer has been hot as hell. This is the price of global fossil fuel addiction hitting home.
And it shows both that the climate crisis is now a continent-wide economic security emergency. And that doubling-down on Europe's longstanding climate leadership is entirely in the continent's best interest.
This summer's climate-driven extreme heat has killed tens of thousands of people, and hammered Europe's infrastructure, businesses, and economies.
We've seen mass evacuations. Power stations closed. And trade routes choked. Crops lost. Yields down. And food prices up - and set to rise further.
Elsewhere, horrifying floods have ripped through the Himalayas. In North Africa, devastating heat has meant lost lives, power outages, water shortages, and economies slowed.
In many places, climate impacts are fueling forced migration - internally and across national borders - taking a dire human toll.
And the costs of the climate crisis are spiraling. Disasters are pushing up insurance premiums. Leaving some entirely uninsurable.
One study calculates this summer's extremes will cost Europe 180 billion euros - in lost labour productivity, and disruption to food, energy and transport. That's equivalent to carving a full percentage point from European GDP - the same amount the EU economy is forecast to grow.
No wonder some EU member states are calling for a dedicated climate adaptation fund.
The EU's summer of hellish heat comes on top of the ongoing fossil fuel cost crisis - and both are driving up prices for households, businesses and governments, in a deathly double-blow. Dependence on volatile fossil fuel imports has long been an economic Achilles' heel for Europe.
This year - again - households and businesses have been hit with higher bills. Now, another European winter fuel crisis is looming, due to fossil fuel dependency.
Increasingly, to be soft on climate action is to be soft on inflation and the cost of living, soft on sovereignty and security, and soft on economic growth and jobs.
The fossil fuel cost crisis is also pushing up the costs of government borrowing, meaning less fiscal space to deliver vital services that populations need and expect.
Understandably, Europe wants to insulate itself from volatile fossil fuel costs you cannot control. Understandably, Europe wants affordability, economic stability, energy security, and policy-making autonomy. Clean energy is the surest path to deliver, cheaply and safely.
Thanks to growing investment, renewables now provide around half of Europe's power. In the first six months of this Middle East conflict, solar alone saved Europe more than 30 billion euros in avoided gas imports.
And you have so much more to gain from accelerating the shift to clean energy - across this continent and the world.
The clean tech boom is already driving European growth, jobs and living standards: Your companies are at the forefront of some key clean industries. The opportunities will only grow.
And some countries developing national transition plans will reap particularly strong benefits.
Globally, over 2 trillion dollars was invested in clean energy last year - double fossil fuel investment.
As all countries at COP30 said: the move to clean energy is now irreversible. That means a goldmine of jobs and commercial opportunities.
By standing firm behind your climate policies, going further, and backing clean, resilient growth. You can better position Europe to thrive. Locking-in higher living standards - now and in the long-term.
Colleagues,
It's clear: Climate cuts across the core concerns of voters, whatever their politics: Family health, community safety and economic stability. Affordable food and available water. Jobs, business costs, and household bills.
It's entirely in Europe's interests to stand firm behind climate action - and to boost it: To build resilience to climate impacts - protecting global supply chains, on which all economies depend. And to slash global emissions.
If humanity doesn't cut the fossil fuel pollution baking our planet, this summer's brutal heat, fires and droughts will seem mild compared to the permanent climate nightmare that will follow.
We have made progress but still not enough.
Without UN-convened climate cooperation, humanity would be heading for unsurvivable global heating well over 4 degrees Celsius. With it, current policies are taking us to a 2.6 degree temperature rise.
That's a long way from the 1.5 degree limit demanded by science to avert the worst climate impacts, and agreed among nations, time and time again.
A recent report from the UN Environment Programme reaffirms that this limit will now be breached. But the report is equally clear: that this can and must be temporary.
Concerted global action can bring the temperature rise back down to 1.5 degrees.
For years, Europe has been a climate leader. And a champion of multilateralism.
You were instrumental in building the international climate system, and the Paris Agreement - at the 21st UN Climate Conference.
Europe's continued leadership is essential - including in supporting vulnerable nations. And it's entirely in the interests of Europe's people and economies.
All nations win by avoiding a two-speed global transition.
We need you working in partnership. Forging international alliances that secure supply chains for clean energy and new industries. And continuing to deliver on your current climate finance pledges - boosting quality and access, building on existing work - which strengthens trust.
No single COP can solve the climate crisis overnight, but each moves global efforts forward - building on the last, and looking to the next: From a global agreement in Dubai to transition away from all fossil fuels. To a new climate finance goal in Baku. And steps forward on a just transition in Belem, which ushered in the era of implementation.
I ask the EU to throw itself behind helping COP31 in Türkiye to deliver further progress.
The need now is not to re-open decisions already taken.
It's delivering what's already been agreed: Countries implementing their plans and targets, and striving to do better, where domestic conditions allow.
By the second global stocktake of climate action in 2028, we must be much closer to meeting the global commitments made at the first. Laying the ground for greater ambition.
This year's negotiations can help support implementation: across mitigation, adaptation and finance - including quality and access to finance.
For example, through developing the just transition mechanism - to support countries deliver fair transitions that create opportunities for all.
I ask the EU to come to Türkiye prepared to find solutions.
That means spending time considering what you would like the outcomes to include. And what others need from COP31.
It means forging compromises. And developing a clear plan on how to use the spaces we've created together.
That includes the Global Climate Action Agenda. Which is key to turning targets into results. Accelerating real economy action. And supporting countries to implement their national adaptation plans and NDCs.
The Turkish COP31 Presidency, working closely with Australia, has set key Action Agenda targets, including 35% of final global energy demand met by electricity by 2035.
The EU is already making gains here. And you have ambitious electrification targets. Around one in four new cars sold in Europe is now electric. And battery deployment is now accelerating.
It's in your interests to push forward. And to drive progress in other areas where the impact and urgency are greatest: Methane - a super pollutant crucial to reducing near-term heating and cutting costs. Food waste and security, as climate-driven droughts hit crops and food prices. And building the resilience of cities to climate extremes.
These topics strike at the heart of everyday concerns of people across the continent.
Colleagues,
We live in a polarized age: But inflation is a common enemy, security is a common cause. Health, jobs, community and prosperity matter to us all. And every one of them demands action on climate.
I thank you.
