By Awyetu Asabe Hope
350.org has warned that the worsening climate crisis could deepen the humanitarian impact of rising oil and gas prices linked to the Iran conflict.
The group’s reaction followed a new report by the World Meteorological Organization, which described the global climate as being in a “state of emergency.
According to the WMO’s State of the Global Climate 2025 report, the period from 2015 to 2025 represents the hottest decade on record, with increasingly extreme weather affecting millions of people and causing significant economic losses.
The report also noted that carbon dioxide levels recorded their largest annual increase in 2024, driven largely by continued fossil fuel emissions.
Amid what the International Energy Agency has described as the worst energy crisis in decades, António Guterres blamed the world’s “addiction to fossil fuels” for worsening both climate instability and global insecurity.
World Food Programme has also warned that a prolonged Iran conflict could push an additional 45 million people into acute hunger due to rising food and energy prices.
Executive Director of 350.org, Anne Jellema, said soaring costs of fuel, fertiliser and food could push millions of vulnerable households further into poverty, particularly in the Global South.
She called on governments to tax windfall profits of oil and gas companies and channel the proceeds into social protections and renewable energy solutions such as rooftop solar.
The organisation also urged countries to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to reduce both climate risks and energy costs.
Meanwhile, the first global conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels is scheduled to hold from April 24 to 29 in Santa Marta, Colombia, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands.
350.org called on governments to use the meeting to advance commitments first made at the COP28 climate talks toward a global phaseout of fossil fuels.
