The United Nations has called on European Union (EU) countries not to resort to more fossil fuels as they face soaring energy prices amid fears of winter shortages.
Countries in the bloc are in the middle of an escalating standoff with Russia following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine more than six months ago. Moscow has since reduced supplies of gas to EU members, sending prices for the fuel soaring and throwing national economies into deep uncertainty.
“In the face of soaring energy prices which threaten to impact the most vulnerable as winter approaches, some EU member states are turning to investments in fossil fuels infrastructure and supplies,” Nada al-Nashif, deputy UN rights chief, told the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday.
“There is no room for backtracking in the face of the ongoing climate crisis,” al-Nashif said, warning of the long-term consequences of boosting the use of fossil fuels that contribute to global warming and calling for faster development of energy-efficiency projects and renewables.
She pointed to the devastating floods affecting more than 33 million people in Pakistan as an example of what happens when the world fails to act on climate change.
“How many more tragedies of this sort do we need before the urgency of the moment jolts us into action,” she said.
Speaking at the opening of the council’s 51st session in Geneva, al-Nashif acknowledged that the soaring energy prices in Europe “threaten to impact the most vulnerable as winter approaches”.
‘Long-term consequences’
Last week, Russia caused a major scare when it halted gas deliveries to Germany via the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline for an indefinite period.
European countries accuse Russia of weaponising energy supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on it over its invasion of Ukraine.
Source: www.aljazeera.com
