September 20, 2025
Web desk
As world leaders prepare to gather in New York ahead of November’s Cop30 summit in Brazil, UN climate chief Simon Stiell has admitted that most countries are unlikely to meet the Paris agreement’s targets. In an exclusive interview, he said the new national climate plans (NDCs), due this month, will fall short of limiting global warming to 1.5C. However, he argued that even inadequate commitments can still drive huge investment shifts toward clean energy and reshape economies for long-term growth.
Stiell pointed to China’s rapid rise in the green economy as proof of the potential benefits. Renewable power now provides a quarter of China’s electricity, while electric vehicles hold half of the market share. Despite this progress, Beijing is expected to submit a conservative NDC, reflecting its usual “underpromise and overdeliver” strategy and caution over global political uncertainty. The EU, once a leader in climate action, is also struggling, with member states divided and unable to finalize their pledge before the deadline.
Australia, meanwhile, announced a plan to cut emissions by 62–70% by 2035, but analysts argue the target is not ambitious enough to align with the 1.5C goal. Similar doubts surround other big emitters such as the US, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, which have been accused of slowing progress in global climate talks. Still, Stiell insists Cop30 can succeed by highlighting not only the risks of inaction but also the massive opportunities in jobs, investment, and economic resilience that come with a green transition.
The UN climate chief also warned of the mounting costs of inaction, with climate-related damages already running into hundreds of billions of dollars annually. He said worsening food prices, insurance crises, and extreme weather are beginning to affect even the wealthiest nations, pushing governments to recognize the economic dangers of delay. “Covid and the global financial crisis would pale into insignificance compared wit what’s coming,” Stiell cautioned, urging leaders to act before climate change triggers a recession on a scale the world has never seen.
