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Sir keir starmer Britain will admit “consensus has broken down” on climate change but will insist it is “absolutely” on net zero in a speech at the UN cop30 meeting.
Prime Minister Will strongly defends his government’s clean energy agenda on economic grounds as he believes cross-party unity on “the science that is unambiguous” has shattered in the UK and globally.
Addressing the climate change conference in Belem, the gateway to Brazil’s Amazon basin, Sir Keir is expected to say: “Ten years ago, the world came together in Paris…united in our determination to tackle the climate crisis.
“There is a consensus based on science that is clear.
“And this unity was not just international – it was also within most of our countries.
“There was cross-party consensus in the UK.
“The only question was how fast we could move.
“However, today, sadly, that consensus has ended.”
Sir Keir will challenge skeptics calling for a slowdown on climate action at the summit: “Can energy security even wait?
“Can bill payers wait? Can we win the race for green jobs and investment by going slow?”.
“no way.”
The prime minister will describe green policies as a “win-win” despite pressure from Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Britain’s net zero agenda and who will not attend a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“It’s a win-win,” he is expected to say.
“The greater our collective ambition, the more progress we will make in tackling the climate crisis, and the more opportunities we will create.
“For UK businesses alone…providing goods and services for the global net-zero transition could be worth £1 trillion by 2030.”
He would go on to say: “So look – my message here is that the UK is completely prepared.
“Because we know, you don’t protect jobs and communities by sticking to the status quo, you can’t stand still and confront a challenge like climate change.
“You can do this by embracing change, embracing opportunities, and working together.”
labor has arrived Government A pledge has been made to remove almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity supply by 2030, as part of efforts to secure energy supplies, curb bills, boost investment and tackle climate change.
But the agenda has faced significant opposition from the Conservatives and Reform UK, who have promised to scrap “costly” net zero policies and repeal climate legislation.
Meanwhile, the US president has vowed to “free up” oil and gas drilling, pulling the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter out of the 2015 UN Paris Agreement to limit global warming.
The Prime Minister is traveling to Belem on Thursday with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and prince of wales on Thursday, after attending William’s Earthshot Awards ceremony last night.
He is expected to hold more than one bilateral meeting with his counterparts, although it was not clear on Thursday morning who he would be face-to-face with as the teams look to take time out during the one-day visit.
Ahead of his visit, the Prime Minister praised a series of new clean energy investment deals, which Downing Street estimates will support around 600 jobs.
Under the agreements announced Thursday:
– The port of East Anglia is to receive £15 million as part of a wider £28 million upgrade to build a new operations centre, which will support Scottish Power’s East Anglia Two wind farm in the North Sea.
– Carrington in Greater Manchester will host one of the UK’s largest battery sites, with Statera Energy confirming final investment decision on a 680MW storage system.
– Jera Nex BP and EnBW have committed a £100 million lease to Belfast Harbor to support the delivery of two offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea, which the Government estimates could create more than 300 jobs.
However, the decision not to invest in a Brazil-led rainforest fund threatened to undermine Sir Keir’s efforts to show UK leadership on climate action.
The government has decided not to provide public funding for the Tropical Forest Forever Fund, which Cop30 host country Brazil wants to launch at the summit.
The UK played a key role in setting up the scheme, which will provide financial assistance to countries to conserve tropical biomes.
But the Treasury reportedly raised questions over the potential cost as Chancellor Rachel Reeves struggles to balance the books ahead of the Budget.
Downing Street said on Wednesday that the government would continue to support the initiative and look for ways to “bring the full weight of the UK private finance sector” behind the scheme.