Who is Simon Stiell and what is expected of him at COP28?

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2. Who is Simon Stiell and what is expected of him at COP28?

From 2013 to 2022, Simon Stiell was part of the ministerial cabinet of Grenada, a country that occupies a small island in the Caribbean, very close to Venezuela. During that period, Stiell was Minister of Climate Resilience and Environment of the Government of Grenada for five years. He also served as Minister of Human Resources Development and Environment, and Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and Environment. Stiell has been a member of the Upper House of the Parliament of Grenada, where he held the position of Government Business Leader.

In 2022 he made his debut as executive secretary of the UNFCCC, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as successor to Patricia Espinosa.

simon Steill could be the person who gives new impetus to the COP conferences, if we base ourselves on the concepts issued by him since he took up his new position last year:

“ The cost of inaction is much greater than that of action.” UN

“Even now, at 1.1°C, many communities around the world, vulnerable countries, are struggling and it is only going to change for the worse, even if we reach the magic number of 1.5°C. The world we live in is much hotter, and extreme weather events and their impacts are going to be even more important. Therefore, the need to adapt to this changing environment is the number one priority, especially for those countries vulnerable to the climate”. UN

“Grenada had not experienced a hurricane for almost 50 years and, in the space of just 10 months, two hurricanes have devastated the island… After all these years, on an economic level, the functioning of the country is still burdened by the economic effects of these two terrible hurricanes and the history of Grenada is no different from that of any of the other islands, and we can go down the list of names of hurricanes: Ivan, Emily, Irma, Maria, Dorian… the list is endless”.

“This is not just about geography; it’s about people, about community, about people’s way of life. Every face has a name, and everything is threatened”.

“We only have eight COPs to achieve those great objectives set for 2030. So, every COP counts”. UN

“…the task before us is incredibly daunting, but it is still possible. If we make the right decisions, whether it be countries, governments, companies, communities or us as individuals, we will still have options”.

At SGK-PLANET we believe that Mr. Steill has a golden opportunity to go down in history through the front door, he just needs to put a firm hand so that the most important issues are approved and not postponed “for the following year”, as It has happened so many times in the past.

Hopefully at the end of COP28 we will not have to repeat our opinion from COP27:

“Once again, like almost every year, the unpleasant taste of postponement was felt, the desire to postpone until later the “uncomfortable” issues, especially those that touch big interests. The progressive elimination of fossil fuels was not expressed in the document.” UN