The petition of residents of the UK,
Declares that the UK should show leadership internationally to secure fair and ambitious agreements on tackling climate change and poverty; and further that the petitioners are inspired by their Catholic faith and Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to cut carbon emissions to keep global temperature rise below the dangerous threshold of 1.5°C, and to prevent climate change pushing people deeper into poverty.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Chloe Smith, Official Report, 16 December 2015; Vol. 603, c. 1651.]
[P001663]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Amber Rudd): The Government have demonstrated our international leadership in tackling global climate change in helping to secure the world’s first truly global agreement on climate change. The Paris agreement reached at the 21st Conference of Parties (CoP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2015 marks a significant step forward towards reducing, on a global scale, the emissions that cause climate change.
The Paris agreement drives us forward on our path to limiting global temperature rises to well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit temperatures to 1.5°C in recognition of (he impact climate change is having on the most vulnerable countries. The agreement also sets a clear long-term goal of net zero emissions by the second half of the century, showing that the world is committed to decarbonisation. Countries will now communicate their commitments to reduce emissions every 5 years and will come back to the table in 2020, after a global stocktake in 2018, to update their plans to cut emissions by 2030 or put forward new ones. For the first time, all countries will be held accountable by an independent review for acting according to their pledges.
As the petitioners note, tackling climate change goes hand in hand with improving prosperity, incomes and livelihoods for the poorest. If we fail to do so the development gains of past decades are likely to be reversed. The UK supported the adoption of the new Global Goals for Sustainable Development in 2015 and pushed for the Paris agreement to support the poorest and most vulnerable countries to curb emissions while developing, and protect themselves from the worst effects of climate change. Over the last five years through the UK’s £3.87 billion International Climate Fund (ICF) we have supported millions of the world’s poorest to better withstand weather extremes and rising temperatures. At the UN General Assembly in September 2015, the Prime Minister demonstrated UK leadership internationally by announcing a significant uplift in the UK’s climate finance of at least 50% with £5.8 billion being made available over the next five years.
Countries now need to implement this agreement. Domestically, we are considering the implications of Paris for UK policy. Our 2050 target, of an at least 80% reduction in emissions on 1990 levels is already legally binding in the UK. The “at least 80%” target is based on previous advice from the CCC that this would be consistent with the UK’s share of global 2°C action. The 1.5 °C ambition further strengthens the goal to keep the global temperature increase to below 2°C and highlights the importance of our domestic target. We remain committed to the Climate Change Act and to meeting our 2050 target. We will set out our proposals in full for how we intend to meet them in our new emissions reduction plan—due to be published towards the end of 2016.
As countries implement their commitments under the Paris agreement we expect to see more countries adopting similar targets to the UK, thereby starting to level the playing field globally and helping to drive down the costs of climate action further. One of the most important tasks for the UK is providing a compelling example to the rest of the world of how to cut carbon while controlling costs.