We have seen a great deal of media attention in
recent weeks on various protests and campaigns regarding climate change. Whilst
this issue is regularly raised in Parliament it is likely that we will be
debating it again this week.
Whilst it is clearly positive that more people are
becoming aware of and engaged with this issue, that is one of the most
important issues of our age, we do also need to ensure that any response is
based on facts and not just an emotional reaction.
The threat of global warming has never been more
apparent, but alongside this, we are also now witnessing an unstoppable
momentum towards a more ambitious global response.
However amidst all the clamour for change, it is
important that change when it does happen, is tangible and achievable, and not
just signalled as a means for political point-scoring.
For example the Government has already signalled
that we want to be more ambitious both in our actions and, crucially, in driving
concerted global actions. There is also
less focus on the achievements that we have made to date and this means the
tone of the conversation can be fearful not hopeful.
Nationally, we should all be proud of the UK’s
world-leading role in tackling climate change and the transition to Clean
Growth. We were the first country to introduce legally binding long-term
emissions targets under the landmark Climate Change Act in 2008 where we played
an important role in offering committed cross-party support to pass the
legislation. The Act set in place
binding carbon budgets that now commit us to a 57 percent reduction in
emissions by 2032. Since 1990, we have now cut emissions by 42 per cent while
growing the economy by over 72 per cent. This shows that economic growth is not
incompatible with cutting carbon emissions. We have cut our emissions per unit
of national income on average by 3.7 per cent a year, well ahead of the EU
average of 2.3 per cent and the G7 average of 2.2 per cent. The last time the
UKs emissions were this low was in 1888!
As well as this we have taken steps to phase out
coal use in our electricity generation through a huge shift to renewables and
gas, driven by decisive policy action. We have seen coal use on the grid tumble
from almost 40 per cent in 2012 to our first “coal free” day last April and the
longest coal free stretch ever (90 hrs 45 minutes) over the Easter weekend. By
2025 the UK will have no coal powered electricity generation.
Renewable electricity generation has also
quadrupled since 2010 and clean electricity now gives us over 50 per cent of
our total. Cornwall has been at the forefront of many of the initiatives, with
our focus on renewables as well as pioneering the development of
deep-geothermal energy, which can provide another source of clean energy for
the future.
On top of this the low carbon sector and its supply
chain is now providing almost 400,000 green collar jobs in the UK (more than
aerospace) and is growing much faster than the main economy – with estimated
potential exports of more than £60 billion by 2030.
The government is investing more than £2.5 billion
in low carbon technology over this parliament – the largest ever public R&D
investment in clean growth.
However, climate change is too broad a challenge
for the UK Government to tackle alone. This is a global problem to which the
solution will be global commitment and I want to see the UK’s leadership and
ambition continue to work with other countries around the world. We played an
influential role in delivering the historic Paris Agreement in 2015 and only
last year we helped create the first “rulebook” to bring the Paris Agreement to
life at the latest round of UN talks in Poland.
Clearly there is much more to do but it is always
important to acknowledge the work already taking place. It is simply not true
to say this issue is being ignored or nothing is being done. We should be
rightly proud of the leading role the UK is taking and will continue to take on
this issue.
