We must learn that growth and green go hand-in-hand
THIS weekend the UK brought the world’s democracies together to the beautiful Cornish coastline to discuss and address the most pressing global challenges of our time.
One message at the G7 summit has been made loud and clear – building back greener is our best chance to build a brighter future for all.
As we rebuild after the pandemic, we cannot afford to miss this opportunity for the UK to lead the charge and pursue a global green recovery.
The UK is already a world leader in this space, with our renewable energy sectors thriving and creating new industries and thousands of long-term jobs.
While coal may have powered our country’s first industrial revolution, it is wind energy that will power our economic recovery. Last year, we were coal-free for over two months – and just two weeks ago, we broke a new record, with wind power making up nearly half of Britain’s electricity grid.
Taketeesside and the Humber: two industrial success stories.we recently invested £95million into two offshore wind ports to be built along the East Coast, creating 6,000 jobs and a huge export boost.
And as of March this year, sales of electric cars have rocketed by nearly 90 per cent, with plug-in hybrid sales up by 152 per cent.the Government’s steps to accelerate and support the uptake in ecofriendly vehicles is set to support 40,000 jobs by 2030, while slashing carbon emissions.
This shows the world that green and growth can go hand-in-hand.
Our expertise and position at the cutting edge of the latest advances in new technology will play a huge part in how we meet our legal commitment to eliminate our contribution to climate change by 2050.
And these key factors – investing in renewables, switching to electric vehicles and creating new jobs – are all at the heart of the PM’S ambitious 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution.
But as we all know, the UK cannot do this alone. We, as part of the G7, have a moral responsibility to support other smaller and developing nations in going green.this is in Britain’s national interest.
The UK has already led by example. In 2019, we committed to doubling our investment into international climate finance to £11billion and since June 2020, the UK has committed £350million to support green recoveries across Africa and Asia and Latin America. But we know there is more to be done to build on this progress ahead of the UN climate change summit, COP26, in Glasgow later this year.
That’s why this weekend, the G7 leaders have kicked off a new initiative, investing high-quality private finance into vital infrastructure around the world, from railways in Africa to wind farms in Asia.
This programme will ensure developing countries have access to better and faster finance, while encouraging the global shift to renewable energy and sustainable technology.
The decisions made this weekend by the G7 and aat the COP26 conference will be crucial in the global fight against climate change, having a major impact on whether nations can ultimately meet their climate goals and turn the tide on global warming.
As we look to reopen, recover and rebuild the global economy, we will not miss this once-in-alifetime opportunity to build back greener together, putting green growth at the heart of the worldwide Covid-19 recovery.