Westminster Diary: Matt Rodda
In two weeks, in Glasgow, the 26th UN conference on climate change will take place.
COP26 will bring together the most powerful people in the world with the expectation that each and every carbon-producing country will take to limit climate change.
The UK has agreed a target to be a net-Zero carbon economy by 2050, meaning in the next 30 years we will be adding no carbon to the environment through our industrial and commercial activities. The Government also want to significantly reduce our emissions by 2030.
However the Government’s rhetoric does not match with their actions. The recent UK – Australian trade deal will bring new market opportunities for British business, but it also hugely scaled back on the expected international environmental commitments. The UK abandoned its hope of influencing the Australians to scale back their dependence on coal and fossil fuel in favour of renewable energy, despite the Department of International Trade insisting that reducing carbon emissions would be at the heart of all our international trade arrangements.
This is a continuing feature of the UK trade deals where short-term economic gains are prioritised over long-term environmental improvements.
The Government cannot continue to ‘greenwash’ its work at home while happily indulging polluting countries overseas to secure trade deals.
The current spike in gas prices which is putting small energy suppliers out of business and reminds us all that there is still a long way to go to end our dependence on fossil fuels.
We have been too slow as a nation to invest in and roll-out renewable energy in the UK. We still import coal from Poland and gas from Russia and renewable energy sources in the UK are not supported to reach their full potential.
Of course, we are already feeling the affects of the climate change with weather patterns changing and rising sea levels putting island nations at risk. The need to limit global temperature increases to 1.5ºC isn’t about doing something virtuous – it’s about protecting our ecosystem.
Locally, many organisations – including the University of Reading and our local councils – are taking direct action to become carbon neutral much quicker than is required by the Government and they are to be commended for their work but, after COP26, we must all hold the Government to account and ensure that we take our actions to combat climate change seriously.
The time for talking has passed, now is the time for action.
