Midway through delivering a dire update on the shrinking window to avert catastrophic planetary warming, United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell paused his remarks Tuesday to ask the assembled press corps if it felt a bit stuffy in the room.
The interruption occurred during a scheduled briefing on the latest IPCC synthesis report in Geneva. As Stiell outlined the rapid depletion of the remaining global carbon budget and the failure of major emitting nations to honor their latest pledges, he reportedly halted mid-sentence, adjusted his collar, and inquired if the building’s ventilation system was currently operating.
After glancing toward the ceiling vents and wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, Stiell asked the silent room of international correspondents if he was the only one running warm, noting that he had worn a heavier wool suit anticipating a draft that had failed to materialize. He added that the morning session had been perfectly comfortable, but the ambient temperature seemed to have spiked dramatically right around the time he began detailing the record-breaking trajectory of the upcoming North American wildfire season.
It is entirely normal for a high-level summit on the boiling of our oceans to experience localized thermal discomfort, especially when the venue has lowered the air conditioning output to meet new scope-three emissions targets.
Aides scrambled to locate a thermostat in the Palais des Nations press room, eventually discovering it had been locked behind a plastic security box managed by the building's facilities contractor. Waiting for a custodian to arrive with the key, Stiell spent several minutes fanning himself with a finalized federal lease sale document for drilling in the Permian Basin, audibly exhaling as he reviewed a chart detailing the imminent collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
The briefing concluded twenty minutes early after Stiell abandoned a section detailing Exxon's stranded assets, remarking that it was simply too hot to think and suggesting everyone reconvene after stepping outside for some fresh air.