UK MPs delegation to COP30

The UK has led the way internationally, with legally binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emission from the 2008 Climate Change Act, to the being the first developed country to sign net zero 2050 into law.  Whilst the two main parties in Parliament may have diverged on the governance process for decarbonising, both are united in recognising that anthropogenic climate change and its impacts are being felt both in the UK and abroad and that it will require the world to work together in order to tackle it.

Impacts and momentum

With humans having already warmed the planet by around 1.3°C, we are regularly seeing temperature records broken. Last year was the hottest summer on record for the world, and this year saw the hottest summer for the UK. In the UK this has led to one of the worst harvests on record [3] and climate extremes around the world and pushing up the cost of food staples [4].

Net zero emissions remains the only solution we have to halt climate change and limit worsening impacts into the future. And ten years on from the landmark Paris Agreement, momentum towards the clean energy future that will achieve net zero is clear. The global clean energy market is worth trillions, with investment running at twice the level of fossil fuels. Emissions growth has slowed five-fold, and China, the world’s biggest emitter, is showing signs of having peaked its emissions.

Against this backdrop, world leaders are meeting at COP30 in Belém, at the edge of the Amazon rain forest, to discuss how to continue global ambition to both tackle climate change and better finance the adaptation to worsening climate impacts, particularly for the most vulnerable countries.

Hearing from the front line

The MPs are joining other legislators, negotiators and civil society in Belém to feed into the discussions which take place around the main negotiations and learn more about the international process.

They are getting a chance to meet and engage with people on the front line of climate change and climate action. That includes representatives of developing countries and small island states, who are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and those working to maintain and restore the Amazon rain forest, otherwise known as the lungs of the world.

They will seek to get greater insight into the complex negotiations, bringing their understanding back to Parliament and their constituents.

Continuing cross-party working

Climate change, and the impacts it causes, know no borders. In a globalised world, tackling worsening impacts anywhere is in the interests of all nations, as crucial supply chains - such as our food system - are ever more global. These MPs - already some of the leading experts on and advocates for climate action and clean energy in Parliament - are there to learn more, to share the UK’s experience, and to bring new resolve back to Parliament to keep the UK at the heart of global leadership on climate.

This collaboration is supported by four organisations working on UK climate and energy policy. They are the Conservative Environment Network, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, the Labour Climate and Environment Forum and Liberals and Democrats for Climate and Nature [5].

ENDS

Notes

[1] The Members of Parliament in the delegation are:

• Anneliese Dodds (Labour) – former Minister of State for Development at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
• Blake Stephenson (Conservative) – member of the Environmental Audit Committee
• Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat) – Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero
• Rosie Wrighting (Labour) – member of the Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security and Arms and Export Controls
• Sarah Coombes (Labour) – Member of Parliament for West Bromwich
• Uma Kumaran (Labour) – member of the Foreign Affairs Committee

[2] COP30 Belem, Brazil

[3] England has second worst harvest on record

[4] UK, US, Ethiopia see food price shocks for climate extremes, ‘raising concerns’ for child health

[5] The organisations supporting the delegation:

• The Conservative Environment Network is the home for conservatives who support responsible environmental leadership. CEN works with a caucus of MPs and peers, and networks of local councillors, grassroots supporters, and centre-right legislators from other countries to promote bold, conservative action to protect the environment.
• The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit is a non-profit organisation that supports informed debate on energy and climate change issues in the UK.
• The Labour Climate and Environment Forum is an independent organisation designed to raise climate and environmental ambition across the whole labour movement, including unions, activists, socialist societies as well as the Labour Party itself.
• Liberals and Democrats for Climate and Nature is an independent organisation working to strengthen the liberal voice for action to restore nature and tackle climate change in the UK.

For media inquiries and further information during COP30, please contact:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: George.smeeton@eciu.net