Little more than a hundred days ago this week, world leaders agreed to the Glasgow Climate Pact, which Boris Johnson hailed as ‘the beginning of the end of climate change’, promising he would ‘work tirelessly’ towards that goal.
This week, the Energy Minister was giving a keynote speech to a conference sponsored by some of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers while the Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng was telling the Commons he wasn’t seeking the extinction of fossil fuels.
We’ve got used to U-turns with this Government, but this one takes it to a new level. The modest progress made in Glasgow is being shredded.
In fact, within days of the Glasgow summit COP26 ending, Kwasi Kwarteng was privately dining with oil and gas industry bosses and urging them to keep drilling in the North Sea.
Just in case they needed any more encouragement, six new oil and gas fields are reportedly set to be greenlit by the Government, using the global gas crisis to justify yet more fossil fuel extraction.
Then there was the ‘consultation’ launched barely a month after COP26 to try to dress up new oil and gas licences as compatible with climate commitments.
On top of that, the Government has failed to set out a clear roadmap for ending coal mining in the UK, opening the door for an expansion of Aberperwym coal mine in south Wales.
So much for Boris Johnson’s pledge that Glasgow ‘sounded the death knell for coal’.
No wonder some of the world’s top environmental diplomats are expressing deep concern over the UK’s backtracking on climate.
COP26 president Alok Sharma says the Glasgow Climate Pact remains fragile.
The Government’s dissembling over what is truly happening and ministers’ boasts about the UK’s progress on climate change just makes it even worse.
In the surreal Alice in Wonderland world that ministers inhabit, new drilling in the North Sea can somehow be compatible with our commitment to net zero emissions. If they really think that, they haven’t looked at the science or simply don’t care what it’s saying.
Even the International Energy Agency, which was once the flagbearer for the fossil fuel industry, says there must be no new oil and gas developments if we are to have a chance of limiting global heating to 1.5C.
Keeping 1.5 alive was the key objective of the Glasgow conference, yet the Government seems determined to trash it.
The UK’s COP presidency, which runs until November, makes this even more dangerous because it undermines the UK’s diplomatic efforts to persuade other countries to be more ambitious with their emissions targets.
If we are to prevent climate breakdown in this critical decade, we have to leave fossil fuels in the ground. It could not be clearer.
Instead of licensing yet more drilling, the Government should be taking the lead on setting up a global system to stop the burning of fossil fuels, starting with a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
There needs to be a global register, a comprehensive, transparent public source of information about known fossil fuel deposits and who is planning on digging them up.
Banks, insurance companies and pension schemes collude in the burning of fossil fuels which is why I proposed amendments to the Public Sector Pensions Bill to ensure future investments are compatible with the Glasgow Climate Pact and for all public pension funds to divest from fossil fuels by 2030.
It’s not just private money that needs to turn its back on fossil fuels. The UK is still subsidising the oil and gas sector through tax reliefs and other financial support.
We have one of the most generous tax regimes for oil and gas in the world – oil companies pay a tenth of the tax here that they do in Norway.
BP, which has been turned into a self-described cash machine by the soaring price of gas, got more in tax relief than it paid in corporation taxes in the past two years and it’s not the only one.
So UK taxpayers are left paying the oil and gas sector to pollute, wreck the environment and jeopardise our children and grandchildren’s future.
We cannot allow the Government to turn us into accomplices in our own destruction.
We cannot keep on burning fossil fuels, because they will end up burning us.
It’s time to reclaim our future, leave fossil fuels in the ground, and create a better, sustainable world for all of us.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
Share your views in the comments below.
MORE : World could suffer catastrophic ice losses despite COP26 pledges, scientists warn
MORE : If you see COP26 as a triumph, you are fooling yourself
MORE : Greta Thunberg says Cop26 deal only managed to ‘water down the blah, blah, blah’
Metro.co.uk's #Just1Change campaign
During COP26 and beyond, we will be sharing stories, ideas, and advice about one common theme: The climate crisis.
At a time when the weight of environmental issues feels very heavy and overwhelming, our aim is to deliver content that will not only inform and educate but also offer hope and inspiration.
Here are some of our #Just1Change highlights so far:
- Introducing Metro.co.uk’s brand new climate series: #Just1Change
- Quiz: Do you know what the most commonly used recycling icons actually mean?
- Easy upcycling tips and tricks from experts in sustainable crafting
- Dumpster diving, foraging and composting: A day in the life of a freegan
- Why tote bags can be problematic for the environment
- Opinion: Boris Johnson is saying the right things at COP26 – but it doesn’t mean anything
from News – Metro https://ift.tt/B3zkIMP
0 Comments