Labour challenges government on climate change action

The Labour Party has challenged the government to take urgent action to ensure the UK remains credible on climate change ahead of the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow next year.

The opposition’s Shadow Climate Change Minister, Matthew Pennycook, has written to Alok Sharma urging the government to not only take action at home to put us on track for net zero emissions but also abroad by aligning UK export finance with our obligations under the Paris Agreement.

In the letter, Pennycook calls on the Business Secretary and COP26 President to: end all financing of new overseas fossil fuel projects and review the decision to use public money to underwrite the Mozambique onshore LNG project; change UKEF’s mandate to ensure that any financing provided by it is aligned with the UK’s climate commitments and the Paris Agreement; leverage UKEF’s position among other OECD export credit agencies to ensure multilateral action towards net zero emissions by taking up the EAC’s recommendations from last June; and bring forward a Just Transition Plan for affected British workers to retrain and reemploy them in decent, long term jobs in renewable projects instead.

Pennycook said: “COP26 will be a critical moment in the fight against runaway global heating. As the summit’s host, the UK has a particular responsibility to make it a success. Establishing the credibility of our COP26 Presidency depends on demonstrable leadership at home and abroad. We cannot credibly claim to be a climate leader until we stop funnelling public money into overseas oil and gas projects that are not compatible with the Paris Agreement.”