The world faces enormous challenges related to energy and food insecurity. We will hear arguments over the next few weeks in this Conservative leadership contest that the environment is a peripheral concern; that instead of leading the transition to cleaner, greener energy sources and spurring the world to act on the global environment, we should stop and turn inward – and that in doing so we’ll somehow save money and be popular . These arguments are wrong on every level.
Energy insecurity and the subsequent doubling of our energy bills is directly related to our continued dependence on fossil fuels, a dependence that is also destabilizing the climate. The answer is to accelerate the transition to clean green energy. Just look at the numbers: money invested in energy efficiency provides a much greater return than money invested in new energy capacity.
But environmental concerns go further than carbon. There is no prospect of tackling climate change without massive efforts to restore and protect nature. The UK has led efforts to raise funding to protect the vast Congo Basin, and we have done so not only because its destruction means a permanent loss of valuable biodiversity, or even because of the Congo’s role in storing billions of tonnes of carbon, but because we know that if the forests in the Congo disappear, so does the rainfall for much of Africa, and with it the agriculture that feeds hundreds of millions of people. The humanitarian and subsequent refugee crisis would be more than the world could handle.
Voters understand that these are not peripheral issues, and unless we get serious about tackling them, voters will rightly turn away from the Conservatives. We have a proud record as a country of nature – it is in our DNA to conserve, protect and leave the environment a better place for future generations. Since 2010, we have made huge progress in reducing our carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 50 percent and made remarkable changes to animal welfare regulations.
Cop26 was the biggest unplanned test of ‘Global Britain’ on the post-Brexit stage and the biggest international summit we have ever hosted. When we took over the presidency, only 30 percent of the world economy was covered by net zero debt. Today it is 90 percent. Some 65 countries have committed to phase out coal, including four of the world’s 20 largest coal producers. And most importantly, we have secured unprecedented commitments from 143 countries, representing 90 percent of the world’s forests, to protect these vital ecosystems for all of humanity.
That leadership continues. The UK asked for and secured historic commitments from G7 member states on nature funding last month. The UK is leading coalitions of more than 100 countries calling for the protection of 30 per cent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.
Internal polling polls consistently show that voters care. In a recent poll of over 3,000 voters in the marginal seats of Red Wall, tackling climate change and the environment was named as the second most important issue after the NHS. Some 53 percent want more action on climate change, compared to 9 percent who do not.
This isn’t much of a surprise given that Red Wall locations are where renewable industries are leading the green jobs revolution. Mayor Ben Houchen was re-elected with 73 per cent of the Tees Valley vote, putting net zero at the heart of his re-election campaign.
The environment is also a priority for the Blue Wall Conservative seats facing Lib Dem rivals in the south. If we pull the plug on our climate commitments, we could be watching these seats turn yellow on election night two years from now.
Some candidates are already promising to renege on our climate and environmental commitments, while others remain eerily silent. Yet if we reject the UK’s international leadership on the environment, we will lose the support of a broad coalition of voters. We will dig our election grave.
Zach Goldsmith is the Minister for the International Environment. Chris Skidmore is MP for Kingswood.
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