Responding to the speech by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at COP29, Sophie Powell, Christian Aid’s Chief of UK Advocacy, said:
“The government deserves credit for being the first G7 economy to outline its new, strengthened, emissions reduction target. The UK’s announcement should now put pressure on other countries to follow suit with similar announcements. Amid new geopolitical uncertainties following the US election results, clear signals of ambition and collective resolve from major emitters are more important than ever.
“Emissions reductions however are only one side of the coin. The other is climate finance and on that, the UK is not yet delivering, despite this being dubbed the ‘Finance COP’. If the UK really wants to claim the mantle of a climate leader it needs to deliver on public finance to support the ongoing efforts of vulnerable countries to adapt to climate change, and to ensure the energy transition is fully funded.”
