Kofi Adu Domfeh: A Brand New Global Dysfunction of Climate Change?

Published: February 18, 2026 | Author: Kofi Adu Domfeh, Journalist and Climate Reality Leader

Introduction: When Weather Dictates Your Schedule

For Kwaku, a professional whose routine involves weekly commutes between Kumasi and Accra, a typical Tuesday is a model of precision. An early morning flight to the capital for a series of meetings, followed by an evening return to secure a crucial deal the next day. This calculus of time and travel is a familiar, almost invisible, part of modern economic life. But on this day, the climate intervened. The morning’s scorching heat in Accra gave way to a terrifyingly swift atmospheric shift. Torrential rain and a sudden storm grounded his return flight, causing a cascade of professional failures—a missed meeting and a jeopardized deal.

Kwaku’s experience is no longer an anomaly. It is a microcosm of what Simon Stiell, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, now terms a “new global dysfunction.” This article explores that powerful concept, moving from a single, relatable story of climate disruption to the geopolitical stage. We will examine the evidence of increasing climate volatility, analyze the conflicting global policy responses, and provide practical advice for individuals and businesses navigating this new reality. The central question is: how is climate change transforming from an environmental concern into a fundamental driver of economic instability and security risk?

Key Points: The Dysfunction in a Nutshell

• The “New Global Dysfunction”: Climate change is now a primary source of operational, economic, and geopolitical instability, interacting with and exacerbating existing tensions like trade wars.
• From Abstract to Operational: Climate risk is no longer a future projection; it is a present-day business continuity threat, as seen in Kwaku’s canceled flight and lost opportunity.
• Three Eras of Climate Action: The UN frames progress in phases: 1) Problem identification, 2) Agreement-building (Paris), and now 3) Implementation at speed and scale.
• Significant Headwinds: Political regression, notably the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and revocation of key EPA endangerment findings, threatens the momentum of the third era.
• Irreversible Transition: Despite political challenges, the economic shift to renewable energy is now largely irreversible, with clean energy investment surpassing fossil fuels.
• Adaptation is Non-Negotiable: Building resilience is now framed as essential for economic stability, food security, and inflation control, not just an environmental add-on.

Background: The Three Eras of International Climate Policy

To understand the current moment, Simon Stiell’s historical framing is crucial. The global climate effort has evolved through distinct phases, each with its own focus and achievements.

Era 1: Discovery and Foundation (Pre-2015)

This was the era of scientific consensus-building. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) solidified the evidence, and early UN conferences (COPs) worked to establish a common problem definition. The key output was creating the legal and diplomatic architecture for future action, culminating in the Paris Agreement goal to limit warming to well below 2°C.

Era 2: Agreement and Mobilization (Paris to 2023)

The Paris Agreement was the landmark, but its implementation required a second phase. This era saw the development of National Determined Contributions (NDCs), the rise of major climate finance pledges (e.g., the $100 billion goal), and the proliferation of net-zero targets from corporations and nations. The focus was on setting ambition and signaling intent.

Era 3: Implementation and Scaling (2024 – Present)

Stiell declares this the decisive, current era. The global stocktake from COP28 confirmed that current NDCs are insufficient. Era 3 demands concrete, rapid action: tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, phasing out fossil fuels, and massively scaling up adaptation finance. The goal is not just new promises, but delivered results that bend the emissions curve downward immediately.

Analysis: The Clash of Trends – Science vs. Politics

The “new global dysfunction” thesis rests on a stark and dangerous divergence between two powerful trends: the accelerating physical impacts of climate change and the resurgence of nationalist, fossil-fuel-friendly politics.

The Physical Reality: Climate Volatility as an Operational Hazard

Kwaku’s story is data-point in a global trend. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) consistently reports increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events—heatwaves, floods, and storms. These are not isolated; they disrupt global supply chains, damage infrastructure, reduce agricultural yields, and create humanitarian crises. For a business, this translates directly into increased logistics costs, asset damage, workforce disruption, and insurance premium spikes. Climate risk is becoming a material financial risk, as highlighted by frameworks like the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

The Political Regression: Undermining the Cooperative Framework

Simultaneously, the multilateral cooperation essential for managing a global problem is under strain. Stiell explicitly links climate inaction to broader instability: “arms and trade wars.” The most significant single regression is the policy shift in the United States under a second Trump administration.

• Revocation of the EPA Endangerment Finding: This 2009 ruling, based on decades of scientific evidence, is the legal bedrock for virtually all U.S. federal regulations on greenhouse gases (vehicle standards, power plant rules). Its revocation dismantles the domestic regulatory architecture for emissions reduction.
• Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: This signals a formal rejection of the global effort, freeing the U.S. from submitting and updating NDCs. As the world’s second-largest emitter, this move has a chilling effect on global ambition and finance.
• Rhetorical Attack on Climate Science: Labeling climate action a “Green New Scam” delegitimizes the scientific consensus and fuels global skepticism, empowering similar movements elsewhere.

This creates a dangerous policy vacuum. While the economic tide turns toward clean energy due to plummeting costs of solar, wind, and storage, political signals from major emitters create uncertainty, potentially slowing investment in the very transition that promises long-term stability.

The Counter-Trend: The Irreversible Economic Transition

Stiell’s optimism is rooted in market dynamics, not just diplomacy. He notes that in 2025, global investment in clean energy was more than double that in fossil fuels. Renewables are poised to overtake coal as the primary electricity source. This shift is driven by economics: the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for solar and wind is now frequently lower than for new coal or gas plants. Major financial institutions, pension funds, and corporations are redirecting capital because they see profitability and risk mitigation in the transition. This creates a powerful decoupling: the physical climate worsens, but the technological and economic solutions are increasingly viable and dominant, regardless of political rhetoric in some capitals.

Practical Advice: Navigating the New Dysfunction

For professionals like Kwaku, policymakers, and business leaders, the question is how to operate within this dysfunction. Here is actionable guidance.

For Individuals & Professionals

• Build Redundancy into Plans: Adopt Kwaku’s lesson. For critical travel or time-sensitive projects, build in buffer time, have backup virtual meeting options, and secure flexible, refundable tickets where possible.
• Climate-Proof Your Commute: Understand local climate vulnerabilities. Does your route flood? Is extreme heat a health risk? Have alternative transport modes and communication protocols ready.
• Advocate for Resilience at Work: Use your experience to push your organization to conduct climate vulnerability assessments for offices, supply chains, and logistics. Frame it not as “environmentalism” but as business continuity planning.

For Businesses & Organizations

• Integrate Physical Climate Risk: Move beyond carbon accounting. Use climate scenario analysis (e.g., from the NGFS) to stress-test operations against 1.5°C, 2°C, and 3°C warming pathways, including acute events like storms and chronic changes like sea-level rise.
• Diversify and Localize Supply Chains: Over-reliance on single geographic regions or long, fragile logistics corridors is a major risk. Explore near-shoring, multi-sourcing, and inventory buffers for critical components.
• Engage in Climate Policy as a Business Issue: Monitor and advocate for pro-resilience and pro-transition policies at local, national, and international levels. Support industry associations working on climate adaptation standards.
• Invest in Employee and Community Resilience: The stability of your workforce depends on the stability of the communities they live in. Support local adaptation initiatives, emergency preparedness, and infrastructure projects.

For Policymakers (Especially in Vulnerable Nations)

• Nationalize the “Third Era”: Design and implement policies that explicitly link climate action (mitigation and adaptation) to economic growth, job creation, and national security. Make the case that resilience is an infrastructure issue.
• Aggressively Access Climate Finance: Actively pursue funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation Fund, and multilateral development banks. Build bankable project pipelines for resilient infrastructure.
• Strengthen Early Warning Systems: Invest in meteorological services and community-level alert systems to give people like Kwaku more notice and agency in the face of sudden storms.

FAQ: Common Questions on Climate Dysfunction

What exactly does “new global dysfunction” mean?

It means climate change is no longer a standalone environmental issue. It is a “threat multiplier” that worsens existing problems—economic inequality, migration pressures, food insecurity, and geopolitical conflict. It disrupts the smooth functioning of global systems (trade, travel, finance) in a way that creates new, systemic instabilities.

Is the Paris Agreement failing?

Not by its own design, but it is insufficient. Stiell argues it is “working” because it created a universal framework and spurred massive clean energy investment. However, the current national pledges (NDCs) put the world on track for ~2.7°C warming, far above the 1.5°C goal. The failure is in the pace and scale of implementation, which the “third era” must correct.

How does a policy change in the U.S. affect someone in Ghana?

In multiple ways: 1) **Finance:** U.S. climate finance to developing nations may dry up, reducing funds for adaptation projects in Ghana. 2) **Technology & Cost:** U.S. market demand drives global innovation and economies of scale for renewables. Reduced U.S. demand could slow cost declines for solar panels and batteries. 3) **Diplomacy:** It weakens the global coalition pressuring other major emitters to act, creating a “free-rider” problem that ultimately leaves all nations more exposed.

Can businesses profit from climate adaptation?

Absolutely. There is a growing market for climate resilience services: advanced weather forecasting, resilient construction materials, water management technologies, drought-resistant agriculture, and supply chain risk analytics. Companies that help others navigate volatility are positioned for growth.

Conclusion: The Era of Delivery

Kwaku’s canceled flight is a metaphor for a world where old systems and assumptions are breaking down under the weight of a changed climate. The “new global dysfunction” is the painful gap between the stability our economies and societies are built for and the volatile reality we now inhabit. Simon Stiell’s call for a “third era of climate action” is a direct response: we must move from setting targets to delivering them, from talk to tangible results.

The path forward is dual-track: mitigation (slashing emissions to limit future warming) and adaptation (building resilience to the warming already locked in). Success in Era 3 means that in five years, a professional traveling between Kumasi and Accra will have a robust plan for storms, that their company’s supply chain will be stress-tested against climate shocks, and that their government’s policies will be explicitly tied to securing economic prosperity against climate volatility. The dysfunction will not vanish, but its impacts can be managed. The choice to act—individually, corporately, and collectively—is the only path to restoring a functional, stable, and prosperous world.

Sources and Further Reading

• United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC). (2025). Statement by Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, at the COP31 President-Designate Press Conference. [Istanbul, Türkiye].
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2023). AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/
• International Energy Agency (IEA). (2025). World Energy Investment 2025. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO). (2025). State of the Global Climate 2024. https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/climate/wmo-statement-state-of-global-climate
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2009). Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act. [Note: This source refers to the original ruling being revoked].
• Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). (2017). Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/recommendations/
• Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). (2022). NGFS Climate Scenarios for Central Banks and Supervisors. https://www.ngfs.net/en/ngfs-climate-scenarios

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