Leaders frame climate as security threat at NYC Climate Week — SkimNews
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- Anthony Albanese delivered the opening keynote at NYC Climate Week and highlighted Australia's efforts to support Pacific nations, while Iceland's Kristrún Frostadóttir closed with a case study on Iceland's 1970s oil-crisis-driven shift to geothermal energy, which now heats over 90% of Icelandic homes.
- Speakers largely avoided discussing the Trump administration's recent climate moves, including nearly $4bn in taxpayer funds to halt offshore wind projects and weakened emissions standards for vehicles and coal-fired power plants.
- Selwin Hart, UN assistant secretary general for climate action, said the Iran war is serving as a "wake-up call" for countries, businesses, and people to break their fossil fuel addiction.
- Retired British Lt Gen Richard Nugee warned that Gulf waters are getting so hot they can no longer cool engines, and pitched hybrid small armed vehicles for stealth and crew advantages.
- UK Foreign Minister Ed Miliband labeled fossil fuel dependence a "fossil fuel roller coaster" driven by the wars in Ukraine and Iran, urging governments to embed climate and nature in national security threat assessments.
- Karen Pflug of Ingka Group, Ikea's largest retailer, announced a 178,000-panel solar park in South Carolina and said energy efficiency is saving the company millions of dollars a year regardless of political direction.
- Helen Clarkson, CEO of the Climate Group, flagged a rise in "climate hushing" among leaders focused on wars, inflation, and economic strife, while insisting polling shows the public still cares about the climate.
Why it matters: With 100,000+ attendees at the largest Climate Week yet, the deliberate pivot toward security and economic arguments — rather than purely climate ones — reflects how leaders are trying to insulate the transition from political headwinds. But organizers flagged a growing "climate hushing" problem even as extreme weather intensifies, suggesting public momentum may be running ahead of what elected ones are willing to say.
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