The UK’s foreign Secretary, David Lammy, in his first major foreign policy speech has made it clear that action on climate is action on our security, our prosperity and our future.
Lammy in a speech on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, pledged to build a Global Clean Power Alliance – a new coalition committed to accelerating the clean energy transition globally, as part of the cross-government mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.
Alongside announcing plans to appoint new Special Representatives for Climate Change and for Nature, the Foreign Secretary also pledged to unlock more climate finance and reverse the decline in global biodiversity – addressing systemic inequalities and injustice globally.
He said: “This Government has set a landmark goal – to be the first major economy to deliver clean power by 2030. We will leverage that ambition to build an Alliance committed to accelerating the clean energy transition.
“And today we are firing the starting gun on forming this new coalition. While some countries are moving ahead in this transition, others are being left behind. We need to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy across the globe in the way that this Government is doing at home.”
The Alliance will focus on driving global investment and finance to close the clean power gap by helping more countries to leapfrog fossil fuels and transition to power systems with renewables at their core. It will work to speed up the supply of critical minerals and inject impetus into expanding energy grids and storage. This will help to increase clean energy innovation across the globe – sharing knowledge and technology to make Net Zero Power a reality, everywhere.
Lammy added: “This crisis is not some discrete policy area, divorced from geopolitics, conflict and insecurity. The threat may not feel as urgent as a terrorist or an imperialist autocrat. But it is more fundamental. It is systemic. Pervasive. And accelerating towards us. Today, I am committing to you that while I am Foreign Secretary, action on the climate and nature crisis will be central to all the Foreign Office does. This is critical given the scale of the threat, but also the scale of the opportunity.”
The Foreign Secretary also committed to united Government team that will use the diplomatic and development weight of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to push for ambitious pledges on finance and reduced emissions at COP29.
This diplomatic weight will be reinforced by new UK Special Representatives for Climate Change and for Nature. These representatives will report to the Foreign Secretary, together with Ed Miliband and Steve Reed respectively, and will help to galvanise British engagement with partners across the world, forge genuine partnerships on climate change and mark a diplomatic drive to increase global ambition focused on clean power, climate finance, adaptation and resilience and biodiversity.