THE UK is committed to securing a strong outcome at the COP29 UN climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, particularly in the light of the US election victory of Donald Trump, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, has told The Observer.
“The only way to keep the British people secure today is by making Britain a clean-energy superpower, and the only way we protect future generations is by working with other countries to deliver climate action,” Mr Milliband said. “This Government is committed to accelerating climate action precisely because it is by doing this that we protect our country, with energy security, lower bills, and good jobs.”
The big issue on the table in Baku is that of climate finance to help developing countries deal with the impact of climate change. Countries attending the gathering, which starts today, are to negotiate a new climate finance target, known as the New Collective Quantified Goal. The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, the Church of England’s lead bishop for environmental affairs, recently returned from the UN Biodiversity summit in Colombia, and said it was vital that countries at COP29 agreed a strong outcome.
“Biodiversity goals align,” he said. “The anticipated climate finance commitments, especially under the New Collective Quantified Goal, will be vital to rebuild trust and support the world’s most vulnerable communities. However, investments in biodiversity conservation, restoration, and environmental protection are futile if climate change continues to advance at the current pace.
“COP29 will provide a unique opportunity to implement a rapid response when loss and damage occur and to solidify pathways for fossil fuel phase-out. My hope is that COP29 will inspire leaders to act decisively, recognising that climate action is inseparable from the health of the whole creation. Let us continue to pray for courageous leadership and renewed commitment to protecting our shared planet.”
There has been talk of private finance helping to make up this goal, but developing countries and NGOs are clear that private finance will likely burden the poorest nations with debt.
Christian Aid’s global advocacy lead, Mariana Paoli, said: “Governments are the only ones able to provide finance in the form of grants, which are the only way to address the growing needs of developing countries. Private finance is guided by profits, and is almost always loans, therefore worsening the debt crisis that many developing countries are facing.
“The purpose of public finance is to answer the needs of communities to adapt to climate change and rebuild lives devastated by extreme weather. The purpose of private finance is to generate profit for the lender.”
One possible source of climate finance is to tax the profits of fossil-fuel companies, which is something that Bishop Usher and the lead bishop for environmental issues for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, the Rt Revd John Arnold, supports. In a letter to the Government this week, they urge the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to raise taxes on major polluters. They write: “The fact that those who have contributed least to causing the climate crisis, face an unaffordable bill for its impacts is an injustice we cannot tolerate as a country. We urge you to ensure your government plays the strongest possible role in remedying this injustice.”
They argue that taxing polluting activities undertaken by the wealthiest companies and individuals would raise funds from those who are “profiting from environmental damage” and “help to incentivise the transition to renewables”.
In the UK, 29 Christian leaders have written to the CEO of the oil company Equinor, calling on him to end plans for the Rosebank oil field, the UK’s biggest undeveloped oil and gas field (News, 4 October). Signatories to the letter, which was co-ordinated by Christian Climate Action, include the Bishop of Edmonton, Dr Anderson Jeremiah; the Bishop of Kingston, Dr Martin Gainsborough; and the Bishop of Penrith, the Rt Revd Rob Saner-Haigh.
The Revd Vanessa Elston, a pioneer priest in the Church of England and one of the signatories, said: “Rosebank isn’t an oil project to better British people. The majority of Rosebank’s oil is expected to be exported for refining overseas, with only some sold back to the UK at market price. However, the UK will have to shoulder almost all the costs of developing Rosebank, with the UK public having to hand over billions in tax breaks to Rosebank’s owners just to develop the field.”