{"id":28900,"date":"2026-03-16T18:31:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T16:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=28900"},"modified":"2026-03-16T18:31:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T16:31:45","slug":"un-climate-chief-warns-middle-east-conflict-driving-global-energy-turmoil-urges-rapid-shift-to-renewables","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/un-climate-chief-warns-middle-east-conflict-driving-global-energy-turmoil-urges-rapid-shift-to-renewables\/","title":{"rendered":"UN climate Chief warns Middle East conflict driving global energy turmoil, urges rapid shift to renewables"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Speaking at the 2026 Green Growth Summit in Brussels, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said the turmoil underscored the strategic importance of accelerating the global transition to renewable energy.<\/div>\n<div data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><\/div>\n<div data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">\u201cRenewables turn the tables,\u201d Stiell told ministers, business leaders and investors attending the summit. \u201cSunlight does not depend on narrow and vulnerable shipping straits, wind blows without massive taxpayer\u2011funded naval escorts, and renewable energy allows countries to insulate themselves from global turmoil.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">He said the crisis had laid bare the geopolitical vulnerabilities of fossil\u2011fuel\u2011dependent economies and reinforced the case for clean energy systems that provide stability, security and economic opportunity. \u201cFossil fuel dependency is ripping away national security and sovereignty and replacing it with subservience and rising costs,\u201d he said. \u201cRenewables and resilience keep bills down and create far more jobs.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Stiell warned that some governments were responding to the energy shock by doubling down on fossil fuels, a move he described as \u201ccompletely delusional\u201d. History, he said, shows that crises linked to fossil fuel dependency will \u201chappen again and again\u201d, leaving households and economies at the mercy of geopolitical instability.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">&#8211;UN\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":27954,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-28900","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The United Nation\u2019s\u00a0(UN) top climate official has warned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is disrupting global energy supplies and pushing oil and gas prices sharply higher, echoing the volatility seen following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.","published_date":"","news_description":"The United Nation\u2019s\u00a0(UN) top climate official has warned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is disrupting global energy supplies and pushing oil and gas prices sharply higher, echoing the volatility seen following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28901,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28900\/revisions\/28901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=28900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}