Below is a statement issued by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell on Thursday 25 June 2026, as much of Western Europe deals with an extreme heatwave.
"Europe's savage heatwave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it - it's the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet. Schools closing, the vulnerable dying, economies sweating: this is what the climate crisis looks like in practice, and it's just getting started.
Until humanity stops burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, extreme heat will keep getting worse, and other climate impacts - from mega-droughts, floods, wildfires and storms - will keep hammering every economy and population harder each year.
With billions of households, businesses and all economies still feeling the heat of the latest fossil fuel cost chaos, and thousands dying in a single day in some regions as temperatures soar, stronger climate actions can't wait. The solutions are equally clear: a faster shift to renewables - which are now much cheaper than fossil fuels - as well as protecting forests and boosting climate resilience. Many countries need support to embrace clean energy and protect their peoples. There's no time to lose."
