The UK has a strong record on climate change that is all too often wrongly ignored. We’ve reduced our carbon emissions by 43% since 1990, while the economy has grown by 73%. We’re decarbonising faster than any other G20 country.  

But of course, the UK is just one country - and to limit climate change in a meaningful way, the entire world needs to share this common goal and work together to achieve it. That’s why the Prime Minister doubled our international climate finance spend from £5.8 billion to £11.8 billion in September 2019, and why, as SoS at BEIS, I launched the Ayrton Fund which is a new £1bn fund to provide clean energy innovation to developing countries. 

Since 2011, UK climate finance has provided 26 million people with improved access to clean energy. It has supported 57 million people to improve their defences against the effects of climate change; reduced or avoided 16 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions; and installed 1,600MW of clean energy capacity. It’s a strong contribution to tackling global climate change that I am proud to have been a part of.  

When the UK hosts COP 26 later this year, I hope that we will deliver some game changing major agreements with international partners.  It’s only if we demonstrate real action and real change that we will build consensus around the world that decarbonisation is possible whilst still promoting economic growth.  I would like to see UK leadership in: 

• Creating an internationally recognised carbon offset licensing body; 

• Announcing significant bilateral/multilateral pledges with major emitters for reforestation, renewable energy generation and storage; 

• Launching an international ‘green finance’ organisation that will support the long term investment needed;

• Creating a Year Book, with each nation providing its own page of pledges, commitments and achievements that can be built on each year. 

It is only with global agreement that we can tackle climate change successfully.  The innovation is underway that will enable the world to decarbonise, but it will take leadership to persuade developing nations to prioritise net zero, and it will take leadership to focus the effort on finding alternative solutions to fossil fuels and environmental degradation.  The UK can provide that global leadership, and I believe COP 26 in Glasgow could provide a turning point for global action.