Government departments are not doing enough or prepared enough to
meet Britain’s targets to combat climate change and deliver a
successful COP26, a House of Lords committee has
warned.
In a letter to , President of COP26 – the
United Nations climate change conference being held in Glasgow -
the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change
Committee voices concerns about the government’s climate
change decision-making process and how departments are held to
account for developing credible green policies.
Baroness Parminter, chair of the committee, wrote to the
Leader of the House of Lords last week to express
disappointment about “unsatisfactory” government cooperation with
its inquiry into COP26.
Now the committee has questioned whether there are enough staff
with the necessary expertise devoted to climate change across
government - and is “especially disappointed” with the efforts of
the Education and International Trade departments as well as the
renamed Department for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities.
The committee fears that it is “probable” that COP26 will fail to
secure commitments needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C
and that there is “a lack of clarity on what will be considered
the minimum benchmarks for success at the event.”
Committee chair said: “The climate
change emergency is one of the greatest challenges of our time
and COP26 is the biggest political event that Britain has
ever hosted, so we would have expected clear leadership from the
top and effective processes in place to coordinate action across
departments. “The absence of an effective climate
change machinery across government has hindered preparation for
COP26 and limited wider progress.
“Not all departments are embedding climate change sufficiently
into their policy-making and it is unclear how the centre of
government is holding departments to account firmly.
“It’s hard to conclude that the delivery of COP26 across
government will be equal to the scale of the challenge.”
The committee also wants ministers to address climate change and
biodiversity loss at the same time.
Baroness Parminter added:
“It’s essential that tackling climate change and restoring
nature are done together. We are concerned that the government
may not be seeking to maximise the links between the two.”
