Britain sets ‘ambitious’ goal to lower emissions

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce a newtarget that he says would reduce the UK’S greenhouse gas emissions “faster than anymajor economy”.

The target aims to cut the UK’S emissions by at least 68 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030 and to set the country on the path to net zero by 2050. The goal is more ambitious than the one the European Union, which the UK left earlier this year, is expected to set next week.

The UK is co-hosting the Climate Ambition Summit with the United Nations and France on December 12, which coincides with the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a global pact aimed at averting catastrophic climate change.

Under the terms of the Paris Accord, which the United States formally withdrew from last month but President- elect Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin, countries agreed to limit global warming to 2C, ideally no more than 1.5C, by the end of the century, compared with pre-industrial levels. It was left up to each participating country to determine at what pace emissions would be reduced. The only binding requirement was that each country had to update the UN on its plans and progress.

The aim of the summit is to get countries to submit ambitious targets before the UK hosts the 26th global UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in 2021, a year later than planned due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Today, we are taking the lead with an ambitious newtarget to reduce our emissions by 2030, faster than any major economy,” Johnson said. “But this is a global effort, which is why the UK is urging world leaders as part of next week’s Climate Ambition Summit to bring forward their own ambitious plans to cut emissions and set net zero targets,” he added.

The UK’S move was praised by Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, a climate and energy think tank based in Nairobi, Kenya.

“This is the kind of leadership we want to see from the hosts of the crucial UN summit next year, and it will put pressure on other countries to follow suit,” he said. “This welcome move by the UK ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement must now trigger a race to the top for a safer and cleaner world.” AP