Climate

Boris Johnson has claimed there are “opportunities” for the UK from melting ice caps – as he hosts the Cop26 international summit on climate change.The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday afternoon, “the retreat of the ice towards the North Pole”, could open up new sea routes that would benefit Scottish ports.Environmentalists said Cop26 was the “worst possible time” to talk about a supposed tiny “silver lining” from the climate crisis which is expected to wreak havoc with extreme weather.Mr Johnson made the comments during his statement to parliament about progress in the summit, at which he is trying to convince leaders to commit to stricter climate targets to avert disaster.After a Tory MP suggested China might benefit from new sea routes, Mr Johnson said: “My right honourable friend is completely right to point out the consequences for the world of the retreat of the ice towards the North Pole. “I’m afraid it will offer opportunities not just for China but actually also for ourselves. Scapa Flow and other parts of Scotland will become potentially very important for sea traffic of a clean, green variety.”Mr Johnson’s comment follows a similar statement this year from Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, who hailed, “the consequences of possible climate change”, for potentially opening up a northern shipping route.Responding to Mr Johnson’s comments, a spokesperson for Greenpeace UK said: “The Prime Minister’s compulsion for going off script seems to be getting the better of him at the worst possible time.“It’s unclear who Johnson is trying to reassure with this tatty, little scrap of silver lining but he sounds like a doctor telling you what amazingly good value undertakers are these days.”Scientists believe the Arctic could be free from summer ice as soon as 2040. The region is warming twice as fast as anywhere else on earth and sea ice is declining by more than 10 per cent every year.Mr Johnson said on Tuesday at Cop26 that, “if we don’t fix our climate, it will be an economic catastrophe as well”. More

Cabinet minister Alok Sharma is under fire after claiming bankers and City traders are as committed to fighting the climate emergency as the activist Swampy.The famous protester made his name in the 1990s, getting arrested as he fought to stop new road schemes – while financiers have signed up to Rishi Sunak’s Cop26 project to achieve net zero carbon emissions.That initiative is already being criticised for lacking any legal targets and after a Treasury minister admitted investments in coal power will still be permitted.But Mr Sharma, president of the Cop26 summit, said: “When I started my career in finance in the 1990 in the City, there was a guy called Swampy – some of you may recall him?“He spent his time occupying trees and tunnels and he was the main face of climate action in the United Kingdom.“But today the Swampys of the world are all around us, in boardrooms, in government departments, in multilateral development banks and trading floors all around the world – you, my friends, are the new Swampys, so be proud.”The comments were attacked by Dr Larch Maxey, a fellow campaigner of Swampy – real name Dan Hooper – who accused Mr Sharma of “appropriation”.“It is attempting to take resistance, to take the truth and commercialise it and commodify it for the corporate agenda,” Dr Maxey said.“If only what he was saying was true. If only we were all Swampys – then we wouldn’t be in the greatest threat humanity has ever faced.”He criticised the government for sending out the message of “just trust us, the experts, the bankers, the politicians, and your future is safe”.“Well, it’s not. The future is in danger because of their actions over the last 30 years and because they are carrying on,” Dr Maxey added.The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) scheme will see all listed companies in Britain forced to produce their own binding plans to reduce carbon emissions or face fines.Mr Sunak said 40 per cent of global assets will be aligned to the 1.5C limit for global warming, adding: “Six years ago Paris set the ambition. Today in Glasgow we’re providing the investment we need to deliver that ambition.”But Lucie Pinson, executive director of the Reclaim Finance, said: “Not a single rule to prevent even one dollar from being invested in the expansion of the fossil fuel sector.”In Glasgow, Mr Sharma defended his Swampy comparison, saying: ‘“The point I was making is that there is a big momentum from the private sector in pursuing green growth and that is something we should all welcome.” More

Banks and pension funds will still be able to invest in coal power under Rishi Sunak’s plans to force them to go green, a Treasury minister has admitted.John Glen said the chancellor’s initiative – one of the key announcements at the Cop26 summit – would give people “confidence” that finance is behind the shift to net zero carbon emissions.But, asked if firms could be given “the new green gold standard” and still invest in new coal production, he replied: “Yes, that will be possible.”The admission will fuel criticism that the impact of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), covering assets worth £95 trillion, has been exaggerated.Banks made similar pledges at the 2015 Paris climate summit that were watered down – allowing huge investment in fossil fuels as the world bounces back from the Covid pandemic.One US bank, BNY Mellon, was in talks to sign up to a net zero industry initiative, yet its subsidiary was preparing to invest in a coal mine in Australia, The Financial Times reported.On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, it was suggested to Mr Glen that such a situation “makes a mockery” of the standard being unveiled in Glasgow.But the Treasury minister said: “What we can’t do is just press a button and, on day one, there will be a transition.“In the UK, we have a responsibility to take a lead in this – obviously we can’t account for every company that’s listed in other jurisdictions.”Economists estimate that about $100tn of investment is needed in the next three decades to meet the net zero goal, meaning GFANZ will – in theory – provide enough cash to achieve the goal.It will see all listed companies in Britain forced to produce their own binding plans to reduce carbon emissions or face fines, Mr Sunak announced ahead of an event at Cop26.A task force under the control of the Financial Services Authority will set standards, to ensure proper checks that firms are enforcing the pledges they have made.In Glasgow, Mr Sunak said 40 per cent of global assets will be aligned to the 1.5C limit for global warming, adding: “Six years ago Paris set the ambition. Today in Glasgow we’re providing the investment we need to deliver that ambition.”But Lucie Pinson, executive director of the Reclaim Finance, said: “Not a single rule to prevent even one dollar from being invested in the expansion of the fossil fuel sector.“Once again, the financial sector is willing to puff itself up with hot air commitments instead of enacting the concrete cuts in oil, gas and coal financing we really need.”Sam Alvis, of the Green Alliance thinktank, welcomed “definite progress”, but warned: “Trillions of dollars are still flowing to fossil fuels every day.“Governments will need to regulate companies, not just publish transition plans but have strict criteria with legal bite on their credibility and pace.” More

Upbeat climate experts are hailing “momentum” towards a deal to halt runaway climate change, after a series of carbon-cutting announcements at the Cop26 summit.They are echoing Boris Johnson who said he is now “cautiously optimistic” that the global temperature rise can be limited to 1.5°C – just days after lashing out at world leaders for their lack of action.The mood has shifted after India’s breakthrough pledge to take 1 billion tonnes of CO2 out of the atmosphere by 2030 and the agreement to halt deforestation across most of the globe.Those moves were bolstered, on Tuesday, by almost 100 countries committing to slash methane emissions by 30 per cent – and a deal to hand $8.5bn to South Africa to help it ditch coal as a fuel source.Before leaving Glasgow, Mr Johnson used a favourite football analogy to say the world is no longer 1-5 down in the fight against the climate emergency, but is making “progress”.“We’ve pulled back a goal, or perhaps even two, and I think we are going to be able to take this thing to extra-time,” the prime minister told a press conference.Significantly, Rachel Kyte, a former United Nations climate change special envoy, echoed that view, saying: “It’s very clear, by mid-afternoon of the second day, that there is momentum.“If we can carry this forward for the next 10 days, it puts us in a better place than we thought we would be coming in.”Mohamed Nasheed, the respected former Maldives president and a UN “Champion of Earth” was even more bullish, saying: “When you add up all the numbers, I believe that 1.5C is now reachable.”Cop26 government officials are also encouraged by Vietnam’s pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, believing it will put pressure on China to move further and faster.Despite the blow of Chinese premier Xi Jinping staying away, his envoy in Glasgow, Xie Zhenhua, was praised for being highly-committed and hard-working.But all involved know they still face a herculean task to strike an agreement to achieve only a 1.5C rise, with 2.1C forecast even if all pre-Cop26 commitments are kept.Just 7.5 per cent of predicted annual greenhouse gas emissions would be chopped off by 2030 – far from the 47 per cent reduction that is needed, the UN warned.Although India’s shift to peaking emissions by 2030 might take out 1 billion gigatonnes of CO2, some 28 billion gigatonnes must be removed by the end of the decade.Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow business secretary, poured scorn on Mr Johnson’s comments, saying: “For all the prime minister’s fantasy football, we’re still a very long way behind.“There has been some progress, but the next 10 days needs to move beyond the pre-packaged announcements. We need a real negotiation to secure the concrete plans for this decisive decade to keep 1.5C alive.”Strikingly, at the press conference the prime minister also took on critics – including on the Tory benches – who argue the green transition is too costly and will be unpopular.“If we don’t do this, if we don’t fix our climate, it will be an economic catastrophe as well as an environmental catastrophe,” he said.“We can use this moment to trigger a greater growth, and greater prosperity, but do it in a green way. I do think people get that.” More

Boris Johnson’s government has been urged to push for an expanded package of financial “reparations” for countries facing the worst damage from the climate crisis.Although wealthy nations have committed to providing $100bn (£73bn) a year for developing countries by 2023, most of the money will come in the form of loans.The Green Party said £50bn a year was needed in grants for the poorest countries by the end of decade – and called on the UK to take special responsibility for “reparation” payments as a former colonial power.Greens’ co-leader Carla Denyer said a far more generous climate finance plan was needed to help low-income countries, or the Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow will end in failure.“Real leadership and responsibility means pledging £50bn a year by 2030 – in grants, not loans – to support low-income countries adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis and help them transition to a clean green future.”She added: “It is essential that climate finance is paid in the form of grants rather than becoming another opportunity to exploit the countries of the Global South.”The prime minister has made climate finance for developing nations one of his four top priorities for the crucial Cop26 summit, using the slogan “coal, cars, cash and trees”.But there was anger when it emerged last week that wealthy nations would not achieve a long-promised $100bn annual target for the fund for developing countries until 2023 – three years later than expected.The UK is currently contributing £2.3bn a year, but as The Independent revealed in July, the cash will be swiped from the overseas aid budget – despite a requirement that it be “additional” to current aid spending.Campaigners have warned that without a clear means of accounting, countries are free to decide what they consider to be climate finance as part of the $100bn pledge. The funding channels include developed countries’ aid budgets, as well as private money and loans.The Green Party claimed that western countries which have historically benefited from exploitation of developing countries which now face the most damage from climate change should be “compensated” with transparent grants.Azzees Minott, chair of the Greens of Colour group, pointed to Britain’s leading role in the industrial revolution and emissions from the spoils of Empire. “Britain has a special responsibility to the world for historic emissions that are causing loss and damage across the Global South,” she said.Co-leader Ms Denyer added: “Boris Johnson’s pledge doesn’t go far enough, and worse still, rings hollow given the huge cut his government recently made to the international aid budget.”The decision to cut the overseas aid budget from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of the national income has undermined its chances of success at Cop26, development experts told MPs on Tuesday.Mark Miller, from the Overseas Development Institute, told the international development committee: “It’s the ability to demonstrate global leadership. At this time in particular, during this once-in-a-generation development crisis, the UK has not been able to take leading commitments.”The UK government’s top adviser has also warned the cut was likely to damage negotiations at the summit.Lord Deben, chair of the Climate Change Committee, told The Independent on the eve of the conference that the UK had “caused climate change more than anyone else”, but not done enough to secure global funding for those now hit hardest by its effects. More

Boris Johnson is to hold a press conference at 5pm at the climate summit Cop26 summit in Glasgow, No 10 has said.It comes after a series of gloomy remarks from the prime minister in recent days about the ability to thrash out an agreement at the conference to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.Ahead of the event, Mr Johnson warned fellow leaders that if the summit failed “the whole thing fails” and the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement would have “crumpled at the first reckoning”.However, on the second day of the summit, ministers struck a more upbeat tone, hailing a “significant breakthrough” on a deforestation agreement, with more than 100 leaders pledging to end the “great chainsaw massacre” of the world’s forests.Representing countries that are home to 85 per cent of the planet’s forests – including Brazil – the leaders committed to “halt and reverse” deforestation by the end of the decade at an event convened by the prime minister on Tuesday.Mr Johnson told delegates: “Today is not just a vital win in the struggle to contain global temperature increases, it is also a huge economic opportunity.“This is the long-term sustainable path to maintaining to ending the loss of our forests, protecting our sacred biodiversity and helping to keep alive the ambition of 1.5 degrees by the end of the century.”Earlier, a No 10 spokesperson suggested the prime minister will also highlight other announcements at the summit so far, including commitment by almost 100 countries to cut back on the potent greenhouse gas methane.Nations agreed on Tuesday to slash emissions from methane by 30 per cent by 2030, when compared to levels in 2020, in what was described as a “game-changing commitment” by the US president Joe Biden.The prime minister’s official spokesperson also claimed: “I think we are starting to see some significant momentum over the past day and a half.” “The prime minister will remain closely involved in that work over the next couple of weeks,” they added.“This is not a foregone conclusion. What we have seen are some very early signs that we are beginning to make progress, but we are not complacent. There is a huge amount to do.” More