The UN climate chief said that the Ukraine crisis should not delay global warming action.

Espinosa said she planned to step down as executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) when her second, three-year term ends in July.

The UNFCCC is a 196-country treaty which convenes global negotiations to address climate change.

War could accelerate the transition to clean energy

“This is an agenda that cannot be postponed,” she said, noting that the energy security concerns brought on by the war — Russia is a major global supplier of fossil fuels — could hasten countries toward clean energy.

Tuesday will see the European Union publish plans to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels. This is for security reasons. Germany — Europe’s biggest economy — has also brought forward its shift to renewable power. Europe gets 40 per cent of its gas from Russia.

Espinosa stated, “It’s an important change in how the issue of energy transformation is being addressed.”

Coal use could increase

However, countries’ efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy could lead to more domestic coal use. Germany has also announced plans for gas terminals to receive from other countries since the invasion.

However, climate analysts shared Espinosa’s hope that the geopolitical crises will be a turning point for global climate action.

Alex Scott, climate diplomacy leader at E3G, said that there’s no evidence that “climate” will be removed from the political or financial agenda of governments. Both crises can be handled by governments.

What’s the latest since Patricia Espinosa assumed office

2016 was a momentous year for global climate action. Espinosa assumed the job in 2016. Months before, UN climate negotiations had yielded the Paris Agreement, committing countries to limit warming to 2 C above pre-industrial temperatures, and aim for 1.5 C.

Millions of people have rallied around climate action in the years that followed. Countries including the two biggest polluters — China and the United States — have ramped up their emissions-cutting targets. More than 80 per cent of new electricity capacity added in 2020 was renewable.

Yet, global CO2 emissions continue their climb. The promised funding from rich countries to aid poorer nations in combating climate change has yet to materialize. And the 1.1 C of warming already seen has worsened weather extremes — from deadly heat waves and downpours to catastrophic wildfires. A UN climate science report last week warned of escalating destruction if countries fail to slash emissions and prepare for a hotter planet.

Espinosa said, “We have moved forward in the right directions.” “But at a same time…of course, I wish that we had achieved more.”

The UN climate summit, COP26, in November, clinched an agreement that countries will upgrade their emissions-cutting pledges this year, since current plans would fail to limit warming to 1.5 C.

Espinosa’s plans for her last months in office

Espinosa said she will focus her final months on urging more ambitious pledges ahead of the next UN climate summit, COP27, in Egypt in November.

She will also push for contentious talks about how to deal with the “loss, damage,” caused by climate-related natural disasters in poorer nations. Vulnerable countries’ demands for funding for disaster compensation have so far been resisted by wealthy nations in the UN talks.

Espinosa stated she didn’t have any plans for her retirement, but that she wanted to continue contributing to environmental sustainability. The United Nations has not yet begun the process of appointing her successor.

The biggest challenge facing her successor at the UNFCCC, she said, is speed — a test for a process that can take years to negotiate a single agreement among its nearly 200 countries.

Espinosa stated, “It is very important to get a sense urgency in this process.” “We don’t have time to make slow progress anymore.”