This photo taken on June 22, 2024 shows a view of melting glacier in Svalbard, Norway. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has urged global cooperation, with governments fulfilling their commitments under the UN Paris Agreement. He stressed that this is humanity's only way to avert global climate crisis, to protect every economy and population, and ensure a livable planet.

BERLIN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Global cooperation, with governments fulfilling their commitments under the UN Paris Agreement, is humanity's only way to avert global climate crisis, Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

This is also the only way to protect every economy and population, and ensure a livable planet, Stiell stressed.

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell speaks during a closing plenary of the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, Dec. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

"Without UN-convened global climate cooperation, we would be heading towards up to 5°C of global heating -- a death sentence for most of humanity," Stiell warned, emphasizing that the climate crisis is already causing massive damage to every nation, their people, and their economies.

He noted that from brutal floods to droughts, wildfires and heatwaves, spiraling climate impacts are killing people on a huge scale, destroying businesses and jobs, property, critical infrastructure and hitting supply chains hard, driving up food prices and wider price inflation.

While international cooperation has led to real progress, Stiell stressed that it is still not yet "fast enough".

A dried corn field is seen as a severe drought hits France, in Puiseux-Pontoise, about 30 km northwest of Paris, France, Aug. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

"We are currently still heading for around 3°C - still dangerously high, and a level of global heating that will devastate every economy, including the world's largest," he said.

On the issue of climate finance, Steill said that it is essential that more finance flows to vulnerable developing countries, "especially those that contributed least to cause the climate crisis but are experiencing many of its harshest impacts."

Many of these countries, he said, are burdened by heavy debt and high capital costs, making it extremely difficult to scale up climate action, protect their populations, and reap the economic benefits of climate initiatives, such as job creation and sustainable growth.

Photo taken on July 20, 2017 shows a general view of greenhouses equipped with solar panels in Zhenghe County, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan) (clq)

The UN senior official also highlighted the role of carbon pricing in addressing climate change, saying that "more countries could benefit from implementing such mechanisms".

He noted that recent UN climate negotiations had made significant progress in finalizing rules for high-integrity international carbon markets. "These markets will, in the near future, benefit many developing countries," he said.

China's national carbon market, he added, is maturing and should be commended. He also pointed out that opportunities for alignment with the UN carbon market could be valuable in the years ahead.

During his visit to China from Wednesday to Saturday, Stiell reaffirmed the country's crucial role and ongoing leadership in global climate action under the UNFCCC framework.

"Not only is China on the right track when it comes to combatting climate change and promoting a clean energy transition, the country is already a global leader in delivering massive increases in renewable energy," he said.

As the country with the world's largest installed solar and wind power capacity, China's solar energy capacity alone exceeds the combined total of the United States and Japan.

In 2023, the country accounted for over 50 percent of the world's newly installed renewable energy capacity. Stiell described this as "a truly impressive achievement".

He also praised China's cooperation with developing countries in energy transition, green technology, and climate change adaptation solutions.

"Because of its strategic investments in emerging industries like clean technologies, China is now in a position to help other countries, which supports progress across the Sustainable Development Goals for people, prosperity, and the planet," he said.