{"id":2857839,"version":0,"headline":"Climate crisis reaching national emergency levels: UN","dateModified":"2026-07-28T17:09:56Z","datePublished":"2026-07-28T14:39:38Z","articleBody":"

The human and economic costs of the climate crisis are reaching national emergency levels and countries must leave coal, oil and gas behind faster, UN climate body executive secretary Simon Stiell said today.

Climate-driven disasters, including wildfires in France and Spain, are reaching nightmare proportions, Stiell said, adding that the costs of the world's dependence on fossil fuels — coal, and oil and gas — is spiralling upwards.

\"These record-breaking wildfires tearing through France, Spain and other parts of Europe, forcing mass evacuations and hammering regional and national economies, follow brutal heatwaves that have dried out landscapes,\" he said.

Last month was the second-warmest June on record globally, and the hottest June recorded in western Europe, EU earth-monitoring programme Copernicus said earlier this month. This reflects a climate system continuing to accumulate heat, resulting in increasingly intense heatwaves, a persistently warm ocean, and growing risks for people, ecosystems and infrastructure, Copernicus said.

French president Emmanuel Macron said the fires the country is experiencing are the most severe since the Second World War, with 116,000 hectares already burned so far this year. Spanish president Pedro Sanchez said his country is battling 10 major fires and has lost around 170,000 ha to the wildfires — a six-fold increase compared with the same time last year.

Wildfires can account for a significant source of atmospheric pollution, including CO2. Emissions from fires in Europe had already reached a record high in 2025, with Spain contributing around half of the total, according to the European State of the Climate report. And wildfires lead to forests absorbing less CO2.

\"The science on the cause is unequivocal: global heating, driven by humanity burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, is making protracted heatwaves, severe floods and violent mega-storms more frequent, more intense and more costly,\" Stiell said.

\"What needs to be done is equally clear: leave coal, oil and gas behind faster, scale up renewables and protect people where the impacts are already hitting hardest, he said.

By Caroline Varin

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The human and economic costs of the climate crisis are reaching national emergency levels and countries must leave coal, oil and gas behind faster, UN climate body executive secretary Simon Stiell said today.

Climate-driven disasters, including wildfires in France and Spain, are reaching nightmare proportions, Stiell said, adding that the costs of the world's dependence on fossil fuels — coal, and oil and gas — is spiralling upwards.

\"These record-breaking wildfires tearing through France, Spain and other parts of Europe, forcing mass evacuations and hammering regional and national economies, follow brutal heatwaves that have dried out landscapes,\" he said.

Last month was the second-warmest June on record globally, and the hottest June recorded in western Europe, EU earth-monitoring programme Copernicus said earlier this month. This reflects a climate system continuing to accumulate heat, resulting in increasingly intense heatwaves, a persistently warm ocean, and growing risks for people, ecosystems and infrastructure, Copernicus said.

French president Emmanuel Macron said the fires the country is experiencing are the most severe since the Second World War, with 116,000 hectares already burned so far this year. Spanish president Pedro Sanchez said his country is battling 10 major fires and has lost around 170,000 ha to the wildfires — a six-fold increase compared with the same time last year.

Wildfires can account for a significant source of atmospheric pollution, including CO2. Emissions from fires in Europe had already reached a record high in 2025, with Spain contributing around half of the total, according to the European State of the Climate report. And wildfires lead to forests absorbing less CO2.

\"The science on the cause is unequivocal: global heating, driven by humanity burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, is making protracted heatwaves, severe floods and violent mega-storms more frequent, more intense and more costly,\" Stiell said.

\"What needs to be done is equally clear: leave coal, oil and gas behind faster, scale up renewables and protect people where the impacts are already hitting hardest, he said.

By Caroline Varin

","lead":"The human and economic costs of the climate crisis are reaching national emergency levels and countries must leave coal, oil and gas behind faster, UN climate body executive secretary Simon Stiell said today.","cmsId":"24917314","source":"Censhare"}