The executive secretary of the United Nations for Climate Change said today that, after one hell of a summer, Europe faces a new energy crisis in winter due to its dependence on fossil fuels.
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10/09/2026
by
Lusa
“ Aanother winter energy crisis in Europe, caused by our dependence on fossil fuels,” Simon Stiell warned the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety in Brussels.
According to the person responsible, the dependence on unstable imports of fossil fuels has long been the “heel of Europe’s economic Achilles”.
Stiell pointed out that the next energy crisis takes place after a summer that he described as “hell”, with extreme heat due to climate change causing tens of thousands of deaths and damage to infrastructure, businesses and economies.
“ Increasingly, not acting firmly on climate change means not acting on inflation and the cost of living, our sovereignty and security, economic growth and job creation,” he warned.
According to a study you mentioned, the extreme climate phenomena in the summer have cost Europe around €180 billion due to loss of productivity and disturbances in the food, energy and transport sectors, an impact equivalent to a percentage point of European gross domestic product (GDP).
In view of the situation, the UN representative argued that clean energy is the safest way to provide Europe with affordable prices, economic stability, energy security and greater autonomy in policy making, says the Spanish news agency EFE.
Stiell stressed that renewable energy already generates about half of Europe's electricity, adding that during the first six months of the current conflict in the Middle East, solar energy alone allowed Europeans to save more than EUR 30 billion in gas imports.
“ The transition to clean energy is now irreversible,” he said, advancing that this process represents “a gold mine of jobs and business opportunities.”.
He also urged the EU to focus on implementing the climate commitments already made and asked the bloc to attend the next UN climate change conference (COP31), which will take place in Turkey in November, “ready to find solutions” and contribute to progress in climate mitigation, adaptation and financing.