Climate

Ministers should transform the UK’s towns and cities by turning flat roofs into wildlife havens and creating “green” walls, say conservationists.Experts are urging the government to launch a raft of climate measures, including writing into national planning policy that all flat roofs in new developments be made nature-friendly or solar roofs.Their report also calls on ministers to support tree-planting in cities and to set targets to retrofit buildings with green roofs.The researchers want all four governments of the UK to “unleash the power of nature” to protect homes and farmland from floods, droughts and heatwaves brought on by the climate crisis.They say harnessing nature’s power for the changes will save taxpayers’ money in the long run.Last month more than 200 scientists for the UN issued a “code red for humanity”, warning such emergencies will become more frequent, but said catastrophe can be avoided if world leaders act quickly.The new report, Nature-based Solutions in UK Climate Adaptation Policy, commissioned by the RSPB and WWF, points out the government needs to act much faster on expert advice about using nature to help society adapt to the effects of climate change.Earlier this year, the government unveiled a plan to plant 44,000 large trees in towns and cities, as part of an ambition to reach at least 12 per cent of England covered by woodland, from 10 per cent now.But the researchers say far more funding and support is needed to promote a nature-first approach to flood control, also calling for measures such as making artificially straightened rivers meander again, restoring peatlands and planting trees in cities and on farms.Planting hedgerows across slopes at field boundaries helps to reduce flooding and soil erosion and improve water quality, the document explains.Olly Watts, RSPB climate change policy officer, said: “As our leaders prepare to meet at Cop26, we are sending a message that investing in nature restoration will not only help save some of our most iconic and well-loved species – including seahorses, otters, hedgehogs, bats, bees, butterflies, frogs and farmland, wetland and garden birds – but it will benefit people too, cooling our cities during heatwaves, filtering polluted air, protecting our homes and businesses from flooding, and our coastal communities from rising sea levels.”The report, researched by Oxford University’s Nature Based Solutions Initiative, says the government could harness the potential of nature to improve quality of life for UK residents, with long-term savings when all costs and benefits are counted. Isabella O’Dowd, Head of Climate at WWF said to slow down climate change and restore the planet for the next generation, “it’s critical that the government keep every climate promise they’ve made, including to drastically cut emissions and restore nature”.“Ahead of Cop, we have to see ministers’ words turn to action with a solid and ambitious climate and nature plan led by public investment,” she added.More than 2,500 deaths were linked to heatwaves in England last year, and this summer flash flooding submerged London Underground stations and forced hospitals to cancel operations as patients were moved.The RSPB says green walls and roofs, with wildflowers and insect-friendly features such as old logs, have blossomed in London boroughs after being made part of local planning policy.Flat green roofs with a thick layer of soil cool buildings in summer by as much as 12C, a 2019 report found, and insulate them in winter, reducing flooding risks by soaking up water and filtering air.South-facing green walls can be up to 32C cooler than others, Spanish research has found, save 59 per cent of energy, and provide sound insulation.In seas and rivers, restoring kelp forests and seagrass meadows would help otters and seahorses and reduce the height and force of waves, preventing coastal flooding, according to the report authors.A Department for Environment spokesperson said the Environment Bill would create further incentives for developers to include green roofs, walls, trees and other green infrastructure in their development plans, adding: “Our Environment Bill will deliver the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on Earth and drive forward action to protect nature and improve biodiversity, supported by a legally binding target to halt species decline in England by 2030.“This is alongside our guaranteed £640m investment in the Nature for Climate Fund for woodland creation and peat restoration, plans to treble tree planting before the end of this parliament, and increased protections for England’s waters through pilots of Highly Protected Marine Areas.”The government says its National Planning Policy Framework includes green infrastructure standards. More

The government has launched legal proceedings against environmental activists for blocking the M25 in defiance of a recent court injunction.This comes as demonstrators from Insulate Britain, a climate group started by one of Extinction Rebellion’s founders, stopped traffic on the motorway on Wednesday – the seventh time they have done so in little more than fortnight.Protesters have also recently blocked other key roads such as the A20 near the Port of Dover. Last week, the government warned climate campaigners they could be charged with contempt of court if they ignored an interim injunction issued by the High Court on 22 September. Under this restriction, protesters are banned from occupying strategic roads.A spokesperson for the government confirmed on Wednesday that it had begun to serve papers to people accused of breaching it.“Police continue making arrests and are working closely with National Highways to shut down these illegal demonstrations and keep the public safe,” they added.Those who take part in such protests face unlimited fines or up to two years in prison.A total of 11 arrests were made on Wednesday morning at junction 3 in Kent, after activists glued themselves to the road on a roundabout.A further 16 people were also detained for obstructing the highway at the same spot in the afternoon.Insulate Britain said in a statement: “We are going nowhere. You can raid our savings. You can confiscate our property. You can deny us our liberty and put us behind bars.“But shooting the messenger can never destroy the message: that this country is going to hell unless you take emergency action to stop putting carbon into the air. Boris get on with the job.”The demonstrators on the M25 welcomed a promise from Keir Starmer that his party would insulate every home in Britain over the next 10 years. The Labour leader mentioned the pledge during a speech at the party’s conference on Wednesday. “That’s excellent news. Let’s get the Labour Party in,” one woman said. Additional reporting by PA More

Boris Johnson has admitted he has no more than a six in 10 chance of getting the breakthrough agreement needed at the Glasgow Cop26 climate emergency summit to avoid catastrophic rises in global temperatures.The prime minister gave the gloomy assessment as he arrived in New York for a last-ditch effort to get the process back on track with just six weeks to go to the UK-hosted gathering, when he hopes to agree action to keep warming within 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.He warned bluntly that some major economies “need to do much more” if Glasgow is to succeed in moving forward the ambitious programme of emission reduction agreed in Paris in 2015.At a meeting co-hosted by United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres on the fringe of the UN general assembly, Mr Johnson will be joined either virtually or in-person by political leaders from China and Brazil – viewed as two of the biggest obstacles to effective action – as well as some of the nations most vulnerable to the effects of global warming.He will repeat his “coal, cars, cash” mantra as he urges fellow leaders to phase out carbon-emitting coal power generation, make the switch to electric vehicles and make good on a 2009 pledge to provide $100bn a year to help developing countries cut emissions and adapt to a warmer planet.But asked to assess his chances of success, he told reporters travelling on his official Voyager plane to the US: “Getting it all this week is going to be a stretch. But I think getting it all done by Cop? Six out of 10.“It’s going to be tough, but people need to understand that this is crucial for the world.”Just 42 days ahead of the November summit, many major countries are yet to fulfil commitments to improve on nationally determined contributions (NDCs) towards global emission reductions agreed in Paris.China’s promise to bring its emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2060 is regarded by many analysts as insufficient at a time when the world’s biggest carbon emitter is planning to build 43 new coal-fired power plants and 18 new blast furnaces.And Brazil’s president Jair Bolsanaro stands accused of accelerating warming by allowing vast areas of the Amazon rainforest to be burnt and logged.Asked if he will tell Mr Bolsanaro when they meet that the clearance of rainforests must stop, Mr Johnson said: “Yes. We want to stop and reverse the global loss of biodiversity, including in the rainforest.“I think it is in the long-term interests of Brazil and the people of Brazil to recognise the spectacular natural endowment that they have and to conserve it and I am sure that president Bolsanaro agrees with that.”By the time they arrive in Glasgow, all countries need to have committed to larger NDC pledges and demonstrated that they are ready to make “very considerable progress” on cutting emissions by 2030, said Mr Johnson.“Some countries are really stepping up to the plate, others – including some G20 countries – need to do much more. We’ll be making that argument and setting that out strongly in the next few days.”Asked how he would persuade Beijing to improve its offer, Mr Johnson said: “The Chinese, actually, have stepped up. They’ve gone a long way already and I congratulate President Xi on his vision.“China is going forward to net zero by the middle of the century – 2060. That’s extraordinary. I think China is massively important on this, but it shows real signs of making progress.”Mr Johnson brushed off climate-denying comments made a decade ago by his new international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who in 2012 tweeted “We aren’t getting hotter, global warming isn’t actually happening”, and branded climate campaigners “fanatics”.Insisting Ms Trevelyan was an “outstanding” addition to his cabinet, he said: “If you were to excavate some of my articles from 20 years ago, you might find remarks I made obiter dicta about climate change that weren’t entirely supportive of the current struggle.“But the facts change and people change their minds and change their views, and that’s very important too.”An OECD report last week confirmed that only $79.6bn (£58bn) in climate finance for the developing world was mobilised by richer countries in 2019 – 2 percentage points up from the previous year but still well short of the $100bn target which was due to be reached in 2020.Mr Johnson will tell fellow leaders on Monday that they have a “duty” to do more, and announce that £550m of climate finance previously committed by the UK is to go toward weaning developing countries off coal and helping them switch to cleaner energy sources.“In coming together to agree the $100bn pledge, the world’s richest countries made an historic commitment to the world’s poorest – we now owe it to them to deliver on that,” he will say.“Richer nations have reaped the benefits of untrammelled pollution for generations, often at the expense of developing countries. As those countries now try to grow their economies in a clean, green and sustainable way we have a duty to support them in doing so – with our technology, with our expertise and with the money we have promised.”At the end of the General Assembly this week the UK will publish the detail of countries’ climate finance commitments to date, and Mr Johnson has asked Germany and Canada to draw up a $100bn delivery plan ahead of Cop26, to spell out how the climate finance promise will be met through to 2025. More

Boris Johnson will attempt to shame the rich countries of the world into finally meeting a $100bn (£73bn) pledge made more than a decade ago to help developing nations deal with the climate emergency – telling them they have a “duty” to step up because their wealth is based on generations of “reaping the benefits of untrammelled pollution”.In a meeting also attended by the world’s biggest carbon-emitter China, he will announce that the UK is putting half a billion pounds into assisting poorer countries to wean themselves off coal power and switch to cleaner energy sources.He will put pressure on big business to cut its own emissions, in a meeting with Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, when aides said he will confront the billionaire internet retailer over his company’s responsibility to address issues of climate change and biodiversity.And he will raise global warming in a face-to-face meeting with climate emergency-denying Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, whose complicity with loggers using fire to clear vast tracts of Amazon rainforest has fuelled the crisis.With fewer than 50 days to go to the COP26 climate change summit being hosted by the UK in Glasgow, the prime minister will tell a meeting of world leaders at the United Nations in New York on Monday that developed countries have “collectively failed” to live up to promises first made in 2009 to support poorer nations in cutting their carbon emissions and adapting their economies for a warmer climate.An OECD report last week confirmed that only $79.6bn (£58bn) in climate finance for the developing world was mobilised by richer countries in 2019 – 2 percentage points up from the previous year but still well short of the $100bn target which was due to be reached in 2020.New pledges made by G7 leaders at Mr Johnson’s Cornwall summit in June totalling $4bn a year for adaptation and nature will not be enough to take the rich world over the line.At the end of the UN General Assembly this week the UK will publish the detail of countries’ climate finance commitments to date, and Mr Johnson has asked Germany and Canada to draw up a $100bn Delivery Plan ahead of COP26, to spell out how the climate finance promise will be met through to 2025.Co-chairing Monday’s meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Mr Johnson will announce that the UK will direct £550m – from a pot of £11.6bn already committed to International climate finance over the next five years – towards supporting developing countries to adopt the policies and technologies needed to end reliance on coal.The failure to accelerate the removal of coal from the world’s energy ecosystem is one of the key obstacles standing in the way of the COP26 goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.Despite pledges to bring its emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2060, China this year announced plans to build 43 new coal-fired power plants and 18 new blast furnaces – equivalent to adding about 1.5 per cent to its greenhouse gas production.On the first day of a three-day trip to the US which also takes in talks with Joe Biden at the White House, Mr Johnson will tell Monday’s meeting: “In coming together to agree the $100bn pledge, the world’s richest countries made an historic commitment to the world’s poorest – we now owe it to them to deliver on that.“Richer nations have reaped the benefits of untrammelled pollution for generations, often at the expense of developing countries. As those countries now try to grow their economies in a clean, green and sustainable way we have a duty to support them in doing so – with our technology, with our expertise and with the money we have promised.”Some £350m of the UK funding announced today will go to the Climate Investment Fund to pilot and scale climate solutions in developing countries, including support for a programme to accelerate closures of coal-fired power stations, repurpose sites for clean energy generation and create green jobs.The cash represents Britain’s contribution to a target agreed at the G7 to provide an extra $2bn to the fund’s new energy programmes.A further £200m will go to UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transition), Britain’s flagship climate technical assistance programme, operating since 2018 to deliver net-zero expertise in 16 countries with high or rapidly-growing emissions.Following meetings in New York on Monday, Mr Johnson travels to Washington for talks with Mr Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris, which are certain to feature the ignomious withdrawal from Afghanistan and the UK”s involvement with the US and Australia in a new Indo-Pacifice defence partnership.On Wednesday, he returns to New York for meetings with senior Congress members including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and ranking Republicans Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.He delivers his own address to the general assembly on Wednesday evening before returning to the UK. More