Energy Minister (): After COP26 we were able to
say with credibility that we kept the pulse of 1.5C alive. We
welcome the progress made at COP27, but there is no cause for
complacency.
We have seen progress since COP26 during our Presidency year and
outstanding work is taking place to cement the gains of the
Glasgow Climate Pact. A full breakdown of progress has been
captured in the Presidency’s Outcomes
Publication(opens in a new tab) and I will place a copy in
the Libraries of the House.
In the challenging geopolitical context and amidst a global
energy crisis, the UK’s objective at COP27 was to secure
continued delivery of the Glasgow Climate Pact, make further
progress to keep 1.5 in reach and support those most vulnerable
to the impacts of climate change.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister pledged at COP27 to speed
up the transition to renewables, to create new high-wage jobs,
protect UK energy security and deliver on net zero. He also
chaired a high-level meeting on forests which built on momentum
secured through the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration for Forests and
Land Use.
With regard to support for the most vulnerable, the Prime
Minister reinforced that the UK is delivering on the commitment
of £11.6 billion in international climate finance, and made a
number of other financial announcements within this: the tripling
of funding for climate adaptation from £500m in 2019 to £1.5bn in
2025; recommitting to spend £1.5bn on forests; £90m for
conservation programmes in the Congo Basin; £65m in funding for
the Nature, People and Climate Investment Fund; and £65.5m for
the Clean Energy Innovation Facility.
In parallel to COP27, at the G20, leaders agreed to implement
fully their Glasgow Climate Pact commitments to limit global
warming to 1.5C and accelerate coal phase down and the transition
to clean energy.
To demonstrate delivery on COP26 commitments, we hosted a series
of high level side events at COP27 which helped to drive progress
on the key sectoral areas: the Breakthrough Agenda; forests and
nature; energy transition; and zero emission vehicles. Events at
the UK Pavilion covered a range of topics, including: finance,
adaptation, indigenous leadership, youth and education, gender,
forests and nature, energy, and sustainable agriculture.
The negotiations were challenging, concluding only in the early
hours of Sunday morning. The UK negotiating team played a key
role throughout and particularly in the final 24 hours in
mobilising countries behind ambition. The deal made significant
progress on loss and damage and the agreement reached to
establish new funding arrangements, including a fund, took place
against the backdrop of increasing climate impacts globally.
Designed and implemented well, this has the potential to increase
support for the most vulnerable from a range of sources.
The deal in Egypt also preserves the historic commitments to keep
1.5 alive that countries agreed to last year in the Glasgow
Climate Pact. The UK rallied nearly half the Parties to push for
further ambition - including on fossil fuels and peaking global
emissions before 2025 - which were not taken up by the Presidency
but we did secure a reiteration of the commitment made in Glasgow
for countries to revisit their NDCs before the end of 2023 to
ensure that they are aligned with the Paris Agreement, as the UK
has done. Progress was made on the work programmes on mitigation
and adaptation agreed in Glasgow, carbon markets, and on the new
post 2025 finance goal.
My right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary(opens in a new
tab), Business Secretary and Environment Secretary also
announced a range of investments throughout the summit, including
more than £100 million to support developing economies to respond
to climate-related disasters and £65 million for the world’s
first large scale Industry Transition Programme.
Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) were pioneered with
UK leadership at COP26. At COP27 a joint statement on the South
Africa Investment Plan was published during the World Leaders
Summit, while the PM joined other world leaders announcing the
Indonesia JETP(opens in a new
tab) at the G20 Summit in Bali.
The Government is grateful to my right hon. Friend and his team for their service
and leadership as COP Presidency over the past two and half
years. The UK will continue to deliver net zero in the UK and to
support other countries in their own transitions, ensuring we
leave no communities behind and keep 1.5C alive. We will use all
our levers, including through the G7 and G20, our bilateral
partnerships, our climate finance, trade and diplomacy, as well
as our deep UK expertise and track record, to uphold the legacy
of COP26, and we will continue to work with all countries through
to COP28 in the UAE.
