Over the last few weeks we have seen disruption by protestors on our roads and motorways, as well as publicity stunts involving historical pieces of art in the name of ‘Just Stop Oil’.
These so-called protests, cause misery to everyday lives. There have been missed cancer appointments, family members unable to attend funerals and residents out of pocket as they can’t work.
By causing chaos, these fringe groups are doing the opposite to their stated ambitions and are turning people against a cause we should all be together in trying to deliver.
This is against a backdrop of COP27. A year after COP26 in Glasgow, world leaders, including our new Prime Minister, have come together again for talks on climate action at COP27. As the UN Secretary General António Guterres said, “A window of opportunity remains open, but only a narrow shaft of light remains”.
But what progress is being made? In the last decade the UK has reduced its carbon emissions by 29% and since 1990 by 38% when renewable energy only accounted for just 2% of all electrical generation. In 2019 zero-carbon energy production overtook fossil fuel for the first time ever in UK history with wind power now contributing approximately 25% of energy out of the 43% of renewable energy produced. In 2010 the UK relied on Fossil Fuel which provided 75% of the energy needed and today that reliability has reduced to 35%.
But this is a global challenge. When the UK took over the COP Presidency last year, just one third of the global economy was signed up to net zero, today it’s 90 per cent – a real achievement from Glasgow.
But in order to realise those Net Zero ambitions, we must assist others to meet the COP26 plan to limit the global temperature to 1.5 degrees. That’s why the Government is supporting countries in sub-Saharan Africa which are facing drought and extreme weather patterns, and which have historically received a small proportion of climate finance. At COP 27 the Foreign Secretary confirmed the UK’s commitment of £200 million for the African Development Bank’s Climate Action Window to provide climate finance for the world’s poorest countries to adapt to the impact of climate change.
So as the Prime Minister said in his COP27 address, there is “room for hope” but we need it to be a global effort everyone can get behind. The more people turned off from climate action by disruptive protestors the harder this becomes.