Writing for the IPPR Progressive Review journal, the cabinet
member and President of COP26 Alok
Sharma has called on all countries to “honour their
commitments and take rapid action” to tackle the climate crisis
and achieve net zero.
The editors of the journal note that this call comes as there is
increasing pressure from Conservative back benches to water down
net zero commitments.
In the journal, Sharma writes that his main ambition for the
COP26 conference was keeping the 1.5-degree target alive, which
he describes as a “fragile win” that
will only endure if countries take rapid climate action in this
“critical decade”. Sharma goes on to warn that “inaction also
poses significant risks to security and long-term prosperity”.
The COP26 President, , writes:
“The key thing now is implementation. Our COP26 achievements
will come to nothing if we do not deliver on them.
“It is several months since Glasgow and we must build on and
protect the integrity of the Glasgow Climate Pact by showing
that, collectively, the world is serious about delivering on the
commitments made.
“The world has turned a corner, and we must now deliver and
show that promises made will be promises kept.”
In terms of mitigation efforts, he argues that the G20 must lead
the way and build on recent commitments made in Rome and Glasgow
to “strengthen their 2030 emissions reduction targets”.
He writes that he will use the remainder of his presidency to
maintain pressure on developed countries to mobilise the $100
billion a year they have promised to support developing countries
and to increase the accessibility of climate finance for
climate-vulnerable countries.
Progressive Review is
the IPPR think tank’s in-house journal of politics and ideas.
This edition, featuring Sharma’s article, focuses on COP26 and
the future of the global effort to tackle the climate and nature
crisis.
Looking at the UK’s transition to net zero, influential backbench
Conservative MP writes that if
we are to deliver on net zero, then we must achieve the right
balance between a liberalised energy market and state regulation.
The journal editors note that his contribution is a timely
reminder that despite the loud noises from net zero sceptics in
some parts of the Conservative party, there remains broad support
across the party for delivering the net zero agenda.
Dorothy Guerrero, head of policy and advocacy at
Global Justice Now, also writes for the edition, but sees COP26
as a failure, arguing that “the talks’ dismal outcome and
targets, however, are completely inadequate” and that “the COP’s
history is replete with broken promises by rich countries”.
However, Guerrero also argues that the global justice movement
left Glasgow strengthened. She finds hope in the protests and
strategizing that took place on the streets of Glasgow and around
the world.
Noga Levy-Rapoport, a 20-year-old climate
activist and YouthStrike4Climate organiser, also writes in the
journal that “the economic structures seeking perpetual wealth
define and limit so much of what COP is capable of achieving in
our name” and that “youth activism post-COP26 must take the tools
at hand to create that tidal wave of people power” to push for
greater climate action.
Last year, IPPR published the final report of its
cross-party Environmental Justice
Commission, which set out a blueprint for a people-first!
drive to net zero, which rapidly reduces emissions, while
ensuring fairness and opportunity for all.
Commenting on this special edition of IPPR’s Progressive
Review, Luke Murphy, IPPR associate director for energy, climate,
housing and infrastructure, said:
“Just five months on from COP26, we are in
the grip of multiple crises with the cost of living crisis set to
push millions into poverty, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine
which is also inflicting wider humanitarian and security
consequences.
“Addressing the climate crisis can help insulate us from
these risks – lowering energy bills, making us more energy secure
and delivering a cleaner and healthier society and thriving
natural world.
“The actions we take collectively in 2022, and every year
this decade and beyond, will be crucial in determining humanity’s
fate.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- The IPPR Progressive Review Journal, A fair COP?
Keeping 1.5C alive edited by Luke Murphy, Becca
Massey-Chase and Joshua Emden, will be published by Wiley at 0001
on Monday 28 March. It will be available for download
at: https://www.ippr.org/ippr-progressive-review
- Advance copies of the journal are available on request
- All authors: The Rt Hon ; Richard Kinley; Emily
Shuckburgh; ; MP; Sara Reis and Anna
Johnston; Sir John Curtice; Jake Ainscough and Rebecca Willis;
Ben Goldsmith; Sam Hall; Sophie Howe; Dorothy Guerrero;
Rishikesh Ram Bhandary and Katie Gallogly-Swan; Moustapha Kamal
Gueye; Noga Lefy-Rapoport
- Progressive Review is IPPR's journal of politics and ideas,
showcasing the best in British and international thinking for
achieving lasting progressive change. It is published quarterly
by Wily. All editions available here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/25732331
- IPPR is the UK’s pre-eminent progressive think tank. With
more than 40 staff in offices in London, Manchester, and
Edinburgh, IPPR is Britain’s only national think tank with a
truly national presence. www.ippr.org
