The climate crisis has raised the price of commodities and exacerbated famine – and only strong action on greenhouse gas emissions can restore economic stability, the UN’s climate chief has said.

Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the UN framework convention on climate change, was speaking in Panama, where recent years of drought drove the water to perilous lows that disrupted international trade.

He said: “The same droughts that plague the canal are affecting essential commodities worldwide, reducing harvests, emptying shelves, and pushing people into hunger. Famine is back, and the role of global heating cannot be ignored.”

But he said investors around the world were “ready to hit the go button on huge investments” if they had the right signals from governments.