Question

To ask the President of COP26, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the response of Commonwealth nations on tackling climate change.

Last month I joined the Prime Minister in Kigali for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). In the communique text coming out of this meeting, leaders renewed their commitment under the Paris Agreement to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and resolved to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius as outlined in the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact. They also stressed the urgency of enhancing ambition and action in relation to mitigation, adaptation, and finance in this critical decade to address the gaps in the implementation of the goals of the Paris Agreement, and welcomed the substantive progress made at COP26.

Four Commonwealth countries have already come forward with new or strengthened NDCs since COP26: Australia, Gabon, Dominica, and Mozambique. We look forward to working with other member states to deliver on these commitments ahead of COP27.