In his address to the media, at the end of two days of meetings in Istanbul, Stiell said that COP31 will take “place in extraordinary times” when “we find ourselves in a new world disorder… a period of instability and insecurity. Of strong arms and trade wars. The very concept of international cooperation is under attack.”
The UN climate boss made it clear that the challenges are real and serious. Calling on countries to “drive forward a new era of international climate cooperation”, Stiell reminded that in 2025, despite the economic uncertainty and “gale-force political headwinds” investments in clean energy grew at a pace double that that of fossil fuels, with renewables overtaking coal as the world’s top source of electricity and for the first time there is a drop in global emissions.
Stiell acknowledged that though the global transition is now irreversible “it’s clearly still not fast or fair enough” however “it’s hard to think of a decade when international climate cooperation has delivered more real-world progress.” Without a direct mention to the US, Stiell referred to the “unprecedented threat” to the real-world progress from “those determined to use their power to defy economic and scientific logic, and increase dependence on polluting coal, oil and gas – even though that means worsening climate disasters and spiralling costs for households and businesses.”
