Stepping onto the world stage
In the coming weeks, the new UK government will step out onto the world stage for the United Nations climate talks known as COP29.
These talks are crucial for generating a global consensus on tackling the climate crisis and providing adequate support to those already feeling it’s devastating impacts.
People like Jen Bishop, a loving mum in Malawi who dreams of her children being able to have the education they deserve. The rainfall patterns have changed drastically over the past seven years, reducing Jen’s harvest and meaning she can only send one of her boys to school.
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Putting promises to the test
The UN climate talks will be the most high-profile test of the new UK Government’s promises on climate change and international development.
Let’s start by recapping some of their election manifesto pledges:
- a new approach [to international development] based on genuine respect and partnership with the global South
- to create a world free from poverty on a liveable planet
- to move faster [to tackle the climate crisis] by working with our international partners, especially those at the forefront of the climate crisis.
Highly laudable aims but, as Ugandan climate activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Vanessa Nakate says, ‘Respect requires action’.
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As COP29 approaches, join Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate's call for action from the UK Government
Civil society will be watching
The eyes of our civil society allies in climate-vulnerable countries will be watching to hold the UK to account on these promises at COP29 and beyond.
In September, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy made his first speech on climate change, where he argued 'these are not random events delivered from the heavens. They are failures of politics, of regulation and of international cooperation.’
Politics and international cooperation will be central to the success of the COP29 talks.
The focus at COP29 for the civil society organisations with whom Christian Aid works is to secure a new deal on climate finance.
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This new deal is vital to support countries on the frontline of the climate crisis; to enable them to transition to low carbon futures; to help farmers like Jen Bishop adapt to impacts of the crisis; and address the growing costs of more frequent and more intense storms, floods and droughts.
Developed nations committed to provide $100 billion of climate finance annually by 2020, while this was eventually achieved, the money came two years late and is highly inadequate in the first place.
Rich nations are failing.
Will the UK step up?
COP29 is the deadline to commit to a new target on climate finance. Many recognise that countries in the global South will need trillions of dollars in climate finance – will the UK step up to the plate and help negotiate a global deal?
Many countries hit hardest by the climate crisis are also in massive debt, meaning they are often unable to fund programs to help adapt to climate change or to respond to climate disasters. The UK government could play a huge role in helping to cancel debts owed to greedy private lenders.
We’re calling on the UK to back a bold new global deal on climate finance, to commit to contributing our share of the money and to help cancel the debt of low-income countries.
We need the UK to push for greater urgency, to show the energy transition can and must happen much faster and that support for the victims of climate change can’t be ignored. If the UK can do that it will go a long way to earning the admiration and respect of people around the world.
The cost to fund climate finance must not - and need not - fall onto the shoulders of the average UK citizen. We're calling on the UK government to commit instead to tax the biggest polluters to pay for it.
We also need the UK to hold firm on its commitment to end all new fossil fuel projects and further cut UK carbon emissions. The recent ending of burning coal for electricity is an important milestone and shows what can be achieved. We now need the UK to go further.
The Foreign Secretary has also vowed that tackling the climate and nature crises would be ‘central to all the Foreign Office does.’ – it’s clear that the new UK Government wants to be seen as a global climate leader.
In order be such a leader it must deliver on climate finance at COP29.
