United Nations (APP – Urdu Point / Pakistan Point News – 17th Mar, 2026) The United Nations’ top climate change official warned on Monday that disruption to global energy supplies is being felt across the world, as conflict continues in the world. middle The East leads oil and gas Prices They rose sharply – reflecting market turmoil caused by the war in Ukraine.
Speaking at the 2026 Green Growth Summit in Brussels, Simon Steele, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said the fluctuations underscore the strategic value of renewable energy.
“Renewables are turning the tables,” he said during a keynote speech at the event, which brings together European climate and environment ministers alongside companies, investors and other key stakeholders.
“Sunlight doesn’t depend on narrow, vulnerable shipping straits, the winds blow without huge, taxpayer-funded naval escorts. [and] Renewable energy allows countries to insulate themselves from global turmoil and avoid the principle of might is right policy“.
He added that renewable energy also meets the top priorities of people across the continent: security, well-paying jobs, better health and alleviating high costs of living.
“Dependence on fossil fuels destroys national security and sovereignty and replaces them with dependency and rising costs,” he said, adding that reality is what most voters demand: climate action that is achieved on a large scale.
“Renewable energy and flexibility reduce bills and create more jobs,” he said.
Dependence on fossil fuels destroys national security and national sovereignty
“Eliminating fossil fuel pollution cleans the air and improves health and quality of life.”
“Some responses to the fossil fuel crisis, incredibly, call for redoubling attention to the cause of the problem and slowing the transition to renewable energy even though it is cheaper, safer and faster to market.”
“This is completely an illusion because history tells us that this fossil fuel crisis will happen again and again,” Steele said, adding that dependence on fossil fuels means economies and household budgets are… a job The bottom line is “at the mercy of geopolitical shocks and price Volatility in a chaotic world.”
His message to ministers gathered in Brussels was simple: obsequious dependence on fossil fuel imports would leave Europe forever lurching from one crisis to another, with households and industries already paying the price.
The UNFCCC head noted that the bloc relies on fossil fuel imports more than almost any other major economy, which costs the continent more than €420. one billion In 2024 alone.
Noting that in 2025, renewables will overtake coal as the world’s largest source of electricity, and more than $2 trillion has been invested in clean energy – twice that of fossil fuels – he said “the opportunities are enormous.”
As a leader in climate action and ambition, Europe’s efforts, including its emissions trading scheme, are driving investment and innovation, with the continent’s companies at the forefront of clean industries and growth.
This includes SSAB, Maersk and Holcim, leaders in green steel, shipping and cement, and Siemens, Schneider and IPS, leaders in wind energy, energy storage and electric technology services.
“Europe can permanently tap the multi-trillion-euro gold mine of investment that is just beginning by embracing green growth, drawing on your many strengths, [including] educationStrong institutions, smart regulation, social justice, innovation, and intellectual property, and supported by plans and policies.
He said that in the last century, when a war-torn continent came together to build the foundations of integration, energy was at the top of the list because countries realized that secure and affordable supplies, achieved through cooperation, were the foundation of peace and prosperity.
“Today, these facts are more important than ever,” he said.