UK leadership is in a decisive decade for global climate action
4 min read
With the clock ticking on climate change, Kerry McCarthy MP, Minister for Climate, sets out how the government is intensifying efforts to cut emissions, expand clean energy and lead a global drive for a sustainable future
We are halfway through this critical decade to halt climate change. By 2030 global emissions need to fall by 43 per cent on 1990 levels, climate finance needs to increase at least fivefold, and we need to phase out coal seven times faster. Countries across the globe must act with urgency to protect developing countries suffering now, and to protect our children and grandchildren from future catastrophe.
After spending years advocating for an issue I care so deeply about, it is a privilege to represent the UK’s ambitious climate agenda on the world stage. In the short time I have been in post, I have attended Climate Week at the UN General Assembly in New York and the G20 Energy Ministerial in Brazil. My visit to Brazil offered a poignant reminder of the many impacts of climate change. My flight was diverted to avoid the path of Hurricane Helene in Florida, and when I travelled to Acre in northern Brazil to visit valuable projects, I arrived to find that a recent wildfire outbreak had left the area smoggy.
“Our mission does not only help tackle the climate crisis: it presents a huge opportunity to deliver energy security, create jobs, attract investment and lower bills”
These disasters are growing in intensity and frequency. The threat of climate change is why Ed Miliband and I are determined to put the UK back in the business of responsible climate leadership. But accelerating global climate action depends on a strong message, backed by clear action at home. Our clean power by 2030 mission is an example of that. This mission is about demonstrating to the world that the clean energy transition can be achieved in a way that creates economic growth, while protecting our way of life.
Since taking office in July, we’ve lifted the ban on onshore wind, delivered a record number of renewable energy projects, and our Great British Energy Bill is making impressive progress through Parliament. We’ve also started the firing gun on the UK’s first carbon capture industry to remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere and store them safely underground.
Our mission does not only help tackle the climate crisis: it presents a huge opportunity to deliver energy security, create jobs, attract investment and lower bills. It is about ending our reliance on polluting fossil fuels, by getting our energy from homegrown renewables such as wind or solar, which have fallen in costs over the past decade. This decisive action at home is how we can mobilise action abroad, inspiring countries to both reap the economic rewards of a greener future and protect our planet.
We are developing a Global Clean Power Alliance which will overcome the barriers that countries face in speeding up the global energy transition. And we’ve appointed two new special representatives for climate and nature – Rachel Kyte and Ruth Davis respectively. They bring fantastic expertise to bolster the UK’s diplomatic efforts and propel the global ambition required to halt the climate and nature crises.
The alliance also sets the scene for co-ordinated global action, and puts Britain back on the world stage, leading the charge to cut emissions and protect our planet. That’s why I was optimistic about the COP29 negotiations in Baku earlier this month. It presents the first real opportunity in 15 years to agree a new climate finance goal and deliver funding for the countries that need it most.
With my colleague Ed Miliband at the helm leading the negotiations for us, the UK headed into those talks with a renewed focus on driving global change as a trusted international partner. These issues have been at the heart of my political life for decades. The challenges have been clear to me throughout that time – and are brought into sharp focus when seeing the very real devastation that climate change is causing.
Whether at the UN, G20 or COP29, global co-operation and commitment is absolutely essential – and as we reach the halfway point of this crucial decade, it is the UK that will be leading the way.
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