Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the implications for the Government's climate change strategy of the United Nations Environment Programme report, The Emissions Gap Report 2014, published in November 2014.

The 2014 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap report makes clear that while existing levels of global mitigation ambition are not enough to put us on a cost-effective 2˚C trajectory, there is still more than enough global emissions reduction potential to achieve 2030 emissions levels that would be consistent with 2˚C. However, realising this potential will require political will across all countries, and a significant increase in global mitigation action before 2030.

The Report effectively supports the Government's climate change strategy, of taking strong action at home within the legal framework of the Climate Change Act 2008, pressing for ambition from the EU, which recently agreed to a 2030 domestic GHG emissions reduction target of at least 40%, and pushing for credible action from other countries in the context of agreeing a global legally binding agreement at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in Paris in December 2015.