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Category: Environment

  • Alok Sharma – 2021 Speech at 2nd ZEV Transition Council

    Alok Sharma – 2021 Speech at 2nd ZEV Transition Council

    The speech made by Alok Sharma, the COP President, on 26 April 2021.

    Great to see you all again. We’ve got two big agenda items – the pace of transition that is needed to reach our Paris goals, and also the latest evidence on the relative environmental performance of technology options that we have to get to net zero. Then a short discussion on the global MoU on heavy-duty vehicles.

    I am also joined by my friend Grant Shapps, UK Secretary of State for Transport.

    This is the second meeting we are having on this Zero Emission Vehicles Council – welcome back to everyone who participated in the last meeting in November.

    On this occasion I particularly wanted to welcome our friends from the US and Germany who are joining for the first time. Our thoughts and prayers are also with our friends in India, who were unable to join today due to the Covid-19 outbreak, as I’m sure you will understand. We look forward to welcoming them back to the next meeting.

    Today, we are represented by ministers and leaders from across the world: from North America to Central America, Europe to Asia.

    Collectively, we make up more than 50 per cent of the global car market.

    That means all of us around this virtual table have the ability to determine the future of road transport.

    With the sector accounting for 10 per cent of global emissions, what we do here collectively really matters.

    There is no doubt that the industry is moving in the right direction.

    From a UK perspective, we worked very closely with the sector last year when we announced our own targets for the phase out of petrol and diesel sales by 2030, and moving to all EVs from 2035. The fact that the sector itself is moving in the right direction is positive – major players like General Motors, Jaguar and Volvo have already made ambitious commitments to end the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles in the 2030s.

    The growth of EVs is increasing, and the expectation is that 15% of new car sales in the EU will be electric vehicles in 2021.

    This progress is fantastic, but we need to go further and faster.

    Today we will discuss the speed of the transition to zero emission vehicles required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

    In the UK, we have committed to all new car and van sales being zero emission by 2035. This is very much central to our net zero plans as well as our green industrial revolution.

    But I think we all recognise that if we are to halve global emissions by 2030, we all need to work together and move collectively in this direction.

    The pace of change and technology options are two areas where collaboration can have a real impact.

    We represent over 50 per cent of the global car market – if we act together, we have an opportunity to drive faster investment throughout the whole global car industry and bring down costs more quickly.

    Under the most pessimistic forecasts, only a quarter of the cars on the road will be zero emission by 2050.

    Meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement requires all cars to be zero emission by that date. So there is a big lift to be done here.

    We also need to ensure we are bringing down costs at the same time, economies of scale will clearly help to deliver that, as well as the improvement in technology.

    In the discussion today, we will explore how to collaborate in these areas and we will hear from independent experts in the UK’s Committee on Climate Change and the International Council on Clean Transportation.

    I think we all acknowledge that climate change is the biggest challenge that is facing us globally. Unless we make real progress in the next 9 years – as 2030 is the date we are all striving for – I think it’s going to be very challenging to keep global temperature rises at 1.5 degrees and keep us on track for net zero by 2050.

    We are doing this ourselves, but also for future generations. For a child that is born today – before that child has completed their primary education, the future will basically be set in terms of where we are going with our planet. It is incumbent on all of us therefore to make progress and act.

    I now hand over to Grant Shapps, UK Secretary of State for Transport, to say a few words on our recent engagements with global vehicle manufacturers.

  • Boris Johnson – 2021 Speech at Leaders Summit on Climate

    Boris Johnson – 2021 Speech at Leaders Summit on Climate

    The speech made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 22 April 2021.

    I’d like to begin by thanking President Biden very much for bringing us together today in the way that he has and for setting out the problem in the eloquent way that he did at the beginning, and of course for returning the United States to the front rank of the fight against climate change.

    I’m really thrilled by the game-changing announcement that Joe Biden has just made. And I’m proud that the UK is doing the same.

    We were first country to pass legislation for net zero. We have the biggest offshore wind capacity of any country in the world, the Saudi Arabia of wind as I never tire of saying. We’re halfway to net zero.

    We have carbon emissions lower than at any point since the 19th century, we’re ending support for fossil fuels overseas and doubling our international climate finance.

    We’re actually speeding up because we see the obligations for developed countries to do more, we’re legislating to deliver 78% of the reductions needed to reach that goal by 2035.

    As host of COP26, we want to see similar ambitions around the world and we’re working with everybody, from the smallest nations to the biggest emitters to secure commitments that will keep change to within 1.5 degrees.

    And I think we can do it. And to do it we need the scientists and all of our countries to work together to produce the technological solutions that humanity is going to need. Whether it’s carbon capture and storage or solving the problems of cheap hydrogen delivery or getting to jet zero flying, getting to net zero flying, making sure that we can roll out EVs properly, making sure that our homes stop emitting such prodigious quantities of CO2, moving to sustainable domestic living.

    We can do this together across the world. It’s going to mean the richest nations coming together and exceeding the $100 billion commitment that they already made in 2009 and I stress how important that is.

    Plus, I think what President Xi had to say about the harmony with nature was absolutely vital. If we’re going to tackle climate change sustainably, we have to deal with the disaster of habitat loss and species loss across our planet and we want to see even more examples of government and private industry working hand in hand as with the newly launched LEAF Coalition to reduce deforestation and the multi-trillion dollar Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.

    To do these things we’ve got to be constantly original and optimistic about new technology and new solutions whether that’s crops that are super-resistant to drought or more accurate weather forecasts like those we hope to see from the UK’s new Met Office 1.2bn supercomputer that we’re investing in.

    I’m not saying any of this is going to be easy. There is obviously going to be a political challenge. It’s important to go back to the original words of President Biden, it’s vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive politically correct green act of ‘bunny hugging’ or however you want to put it. Nothing wrong with ‘bunny hugging’ but you know what I’m driving at.

    This is about growth and jobs and the President was absolutely right to stress that. I want to leave you with the thought that we can build back better from this pandemic by building back greener.

    Don’t forget that the UK has been able to cut our own CO2 emissions by about 42% on 1990 levels and we’ve seen our economy grow by 73%, you can do both at once. Cake have eat is my message to you.

    Let’s work together on this. Let’s go to Kunming in October and Glasgow in November armed with ambitious targets and the plans required to reach them.

    And let’s use this extraordinary moment and the incredible technology that we’re working on to make this decade the moment of decisive change in the fight against climate change and let’s do it together.

  • Alok Sharma – 2021 Speech at Leaders Summit on Climate

    Alok Sharma – 2021 Speech at Leaders Summit on Climate

    The speech made by Alok Sharma, the COP26 President, on 22 April 2021.

    Your Excellencies, Ladies, Gentlemen, Friends.

    Before a baby born today has even finished primary education, the future will be set.

    We all know that the next decade will be make, or break, for planet earth.

    And the warning lights are flashing bright red.

    And that is why the decisions world leaders are taking today, and, indeed, on the road to COP26, are going to be absolutely critical.

    So I want to thank President Biden for bringing us together, and for the US’s own ambitious new nationally determined contribution.

    And, indeed, I am grateful to everyone who has made announcements.

    And moved us closer to our clean, green future. To creating jobs and prosperity without harming the planet.

    And with today’s announcements from the US, Canada and Japan, every G7 country now has an NDC that puts them on a path to net zero by 2050.

    This is a significant step towards keeping 1.5 degrees within reach, from a group of countries who have a responsibility to lead.

    As you’ve heard, Net zero commitments now cover 70 percent of the global economy.

    And this is real progress. But we have much further to go.

    Because, as I said at the Climate Ambition Summit in December, the key question is:

    Have we collectively as a world community done enough to put the world on track to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

    To protecting ourselves from climate change.

    And making the Paris Agreement a reality.

    Friends, the answer to that question is still: no, not yet.

    Between now and COP26 there will be more opportunities for countries to raise their ambition. And so we must.

    Because if we are serious about 1.5 degrees, we must be serious about NDCs. And we must be serious about acting now to reduce emissions. And we must be serious about supporting developing countries.

    The next IPCC report will show us again the urgency of our situation.

    And the world is looking expectantly to its leaders to respond.

    And we must prove that we are up to the challenge. And we must make COP26 the turning point where we get on track to make the goals of the Paris Agreement a reality.

    And that means, firstly, putting the world on a path to net zero through long term targets and aligned NDCs.

    And taking immediate action to meet those targets – by, for example, phasing out coal.

    So, I welcome South Korea’s commitment to end overseas coal financing.

    Second, we must boost adaptation.

    Third, we need finance, as we have heard about in this section. And we must all see ourselves as champions of developing countries. Whose calls for action we have heard loud and clear today.

    Climate change, we all know, does not respect borders. And tackling it is absolutely a global effort.

    So, developed countries must mobilise the promised $100billion a year.

    And I very much welcome the US return to the fold following today’s initial climate finance commitment. And we will continue to work with all donors to increase ambition towards our collective goal.

    Finally, we must work together to deliver a low carbon world, and make the negotiations in Glasgow a success.

    Friends, today, we have made progress on our goals.

    But we need a further step change.

    We need world leaders to mount a global response that matches the scale and the urgency of the crisis we face.

    This is the defining issue of our political age.

    The one against which future generations will judge us above all others.

    But I do believe we can and we must rise to the occasion.

  • Anna McMorrin – 2021 Comments on Prime Minister and US Climate Leaders’ Summit

    Anna McMorrin – 2021 Comments on Prime Minister and US Climate Leaders’ Summit

    The comments made by Anna McMorrin, the Shadow Minister for International Development, on 22 April 2021.

    The Prime Minister’s statement highlights the gulf between his government’s climate rhetoric and delivery.

    Stripping away vital aid funding as well as continued funding of fossil fuel projects overseas despite his government’s new policy shows talk is cheap. This Government’s hypocrisy must end.

    This Earth Day world leaders must listen and learn from climate vulnerable communities everywhere and ensure they are at the heart of decision-making and mobilise the finance to advance progress. Taking real climate action will mean greater health, prosperity and security for all home and aboard, from East Africa to East Yorkshire.

  • Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments at Climate Leaders Summit

    Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments at Climate Leaders Summit

    The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 22 April 2021.

    The UK has shown that it’s possible to slash emissions while growing the economy, which makes question of reaching net zero not so much technical as political.

    If we actually want to stop climate change, then this must be the year in which we get serious about doing so. Because the 2020s will be remembered either as the decade in which world leaders united to turn the tide, or as a failure.

    So let’s come to Kunming in October and Glasgow in November armed with ambitious targets and the plans required to reach them. And let the history books show that it was this generation of leaders that possessed the will to preserve our planet for generations to come.

  • George Eustice – 2021 Comments on Protecting Seals

    George Eustice – 2021 Comments on Protecting Seals

    The comments made by George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, on 1 April 2021.

    Seals are one of our most iconic marine mammals. They can be found along our coastline around the UK, and we must do all that we can to protect them.

    Disturbance by members of the public can be detrimental to seals, but this is entirely preventable. I would urge everyone to follow the guidance, give seals the space that they need and respect this vulnerable marine species.

    This campaign will raise vital awareness ahead of the bank holiday weekend and help protect some of our most treasured marine wildlife.

  • Kwasi Kwarteng – 2021 Comments on Green Jobs

    Kwasi Kwarteng – 2021 Comments on Green Jobs

    The comments made by Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business and Energy Secretary, on 16 March 2021.

    We were the first major economy to put into law our target to end our contribution to climate change, and today we’re taking steps to be the first major economy to have its own low carbon industrial sector.

    While reaching our climate targets will require extensive change across our economy, we must do so in a way that protects jobs, creates new industries and attracts inward investment – without pushing emissions and business abroad.

    Ahead of COP26, the UK is showing the world how we can cut emissions, create jobs and unleash private investment and economic growth. Today’s strategy builds on this winning formula as we transition low carbon and renewable energy sources, while supporting the competitiveness of Britain’s industrial base.

    Backed by more than £1 billion investment, today’s plans will make a considerable dent in the amount of carbon emissions emitting from our economy and put us on the path to eliminate our contribution to climate change by 2050.

  • Ed Miliband – 2021 Comments on the Government’s Green Jobs Announcement

    Ed Miliband – 2021 Comments on the Government’s Green Jobs Announcement

    The comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business Secretary, on 17 March 2021.

    Once again, the Government talks a big game on green but doesn’t deliver with nearly the scale or ambition that’s necessary. None of this money is new – these announcements simply allocate money already announced.

    Strip away the rhetoric and we see the fact that while Germany is investing 7 billion euros in a hydrogen strategy our Government is investing a tiny fraction of that.

    We had a Budget that failed the steel, automotive and aerospace sectors and once again the Government appears to have nothing to say about those key sectors.

    And on buildings, we still have no long-term government strategy about how to decarbonise housing and no accounting for the £1bn cut to the Green Homes Grant.

    We need an ambitious green stimulus to support industry to decarbonise ​and secure jobs for the long-term, starting with a £30bn green recovery. The Government has failed to deliver yet again.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2021 Comments on Deforestation

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2021 Comments on Deforestation

    The comments made by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Energy Minister, on 12 March 2021.

    The impact of deforestation is devastating – on those vulnerable rainforest communities, and on global efforts to combat climate change. And the health of the earth’s tropical forests is critical to the health of our planet – we need to do all we can to protect and preserve this vital ecosystem.

    Today’s new fund will ramp up investment in projects on the frontline of this effort, while also giving financial institutions the confidence they need to invest, which could attract and secure as much as £850 million from the private sector.

  • Alok Sharma – 2021 Comments on Hitachi Sponsoring COP26

    Alok Sharma – 2021 Comments on Hitachi Sponsoring COP26

    The comments made by Alok Sharma, the COP26 President, on 10 March 2021.

    Businesses have a key role to play in helping us build back greener and Hitachi has shown strong leadership by making a clear commitment to combating climate change through science based measures.

    We know that technology has a vital role in helping us all achieve a low carbon future and Hitachi is at the forefront of this. I am delighted to welcome them as a Principal Partner for COP26.