from Poland whose prime minister has declared a state of emergency to Bangladesh where 1.2 million households are trapped by flash floods to Myanmar where mudslides have claimed the lives of hundreds this summer has brought with it extreme and deadly weather exacerbated by an evering Planet these are not random events delivered from the heav these are failures of politics failures of Regulation and frankly failures of international cooperation today the new foreign secretary used his very first speech to say climate change was his Department's number one priority the threat may not feel as urgent as a terrorist
or an imperialist autocrat but it is more fundamental it is systemic it's pervasive and accelerating towards us at PACE he said he discussed the responsibility of maintaining a livable planet with s David atra last week and fronted an apocalyptic video posted on social media this morning to Signal his agonizing over it but as he attacked the previous government's record on the environment he said replacing its dropped funding Target to tackle global climate change was only and ambition prompting fears that 12 billion once promised by 2026 could be a victim of the Autumn budget all while
the global South says developed countries need to contribute much much more to the fight my message today is that we will take on the blockers the delayers the obstructionists a few miles away the energy security secretary said he would speed up clean energy infrastructure repeating the government's pledge to become a so-called clean energy superpower by 2030 today is a two-pronged attack from the government intended to boost its climate credentials both at home and abroad even before the election labor were talking a lot about their energy commitments things like clean power 2030 their warm homes plan
they were talking about it in the buildup to the election and since we've seen some action so we've seen action on lifting the onshore uh wind ban we've seen um action on GB energy obviously they're talking a lot about that and partnering with the crown estate but we haven't seen very much at on the warm homes plan which is their grand plan for insulation um and that's really essential because that's the thing that's going to reduce our gas Demand right down and keep people's bills low with November's cop 29 climate Summit looming the UK has
today pledged a new Global Alliance to speed up decarbonization but the global South wants developed Nations many of them historic polluters to show them the money with American government scientists warning 2024 will be the hottest year on record the urgency is plain but the politics anything but Amilia jend there well I'm now joined by Nick Bridge the UK's last climate Envoy before the role was act by rishy sunak and from Westminster by the new green MP Ellie CHS thanks both of you for joining us Nick Bridge can I come to you first the foreign secretary
today said climate is a bigger threat than terrorism and Putin you know which will may take some people by surprise when they look at what's going on in Ukraine right now is he right yes I think he's absolutely right it's um systemic it affects everybody in the world it's here now but it's going to get profoundly worse very quickly so I think it was a very wise strategic move to set that out and what was his first speech uh keynote speech as V secretary and Ellie CHS presumably you welcome a speech that gives a sense
of just how seriously this government is going to take the environment absolutely I really welcome what David Lamy said today you know he's recognized the importance of the climate crisis and the nature crisis and this is signaling that he and the government are taking a long-term approach to thinking about these issues not just the immediately presenting problems but recognizing that the climate and nature crisis are big strategic issues that have to be grasped grappled with and dealt with and I mean Nick Bridge you were also in in a former life a senior Economist at the
um foreign office where is the money for all of this because we don't get to Net Zero here without spending ending and investing money and making sure more vulnerable communities elsewhere in the world aren't Left Behind as David Lamy said today that's an enormous Financial commitment for countries across the globe isn't it well we heard David Lamy recommit the UK's um spend the 11.6 billion but the key thing I think is to see this not as a climate Finance issue rather a sort of whole of economy issue because what we're trying to do now is
build a clean economy that's in incredibly more healthy for people it's good for communities it's good for jobs so there's no reason not to do it and it's a much wider question of what kind of economy do we want what kind of society do we want what kind of environment what kind of Health do we want and so it's more a question of whether um all of our economic investment is going into the right kinds of places rather than um talking about the relatively small amounts of uh money that are being discussed uh under some
of the climate Finance funds internationally so every country has to see as a as a as an as an opportunity for its future prosperity and jobs and and environment although Ellie CHS the the foreign secretary said today its funding Target to tackle Global CL global climate change was only an ambition does that make you nervous that it's an ambition yes I noticed that what appeared to be a little bit of a sliding back and I really hope that David Lamy clarified that that that commitment is still there because of course we actually need more funding
for the UK to step up and provide the level of climate Finance that is needed to support the transition to clean green energy worldwide and indeed to help countries adapt to the effects of climate change that are already coming down the road we can see directly ahead of us but I think Nick's really right to draw attention to the fact that this framing of oh dear this is going to cost us money is completely the wrong way to look at this we've had reports going back years will cost us money that is the truth of
it isn't it in the short term investment is needed investment is needed for anything worth doing but I remember Nick Stern's report 15 20 years ago that said the costs of not tackling climate change now will be far greater than the cost of tackling it that still applies today and we've lost 20 years so it's urgent now to make that upfront investment because longterm that will benefit us all and one of your people on the on the package before was talking about the need to invest in insulation of homes this is absolutely critical and while
it's great to have a government that's talking about investing in renewable energy we're not hearing nearly enough about demand side investment Energy Efficiency reducing the need for energy that's crucial in ensuring that everybody can live in a warm home and that we can reach our climate goals and stay within the 1.5 degree limit but but Nick bridge and I take your point about you know we must have a sort of sweeping Vision because of how important this is but the money has to come from somewhere and we have heard almost daily from the labor government
you know about financial restraint that there isn't money to do the things that they would like to do are you concerned about that no what I'm most encouraged about today is the fact that that unlike the previous government this one has taken the chance to reset we've got more than 120 countries around the world in the global South Island States and we're saying you know we're listening and we're hearing that this is your priority it's also our priority and so the Strategic reset where we're actually talking about the same priority and working out how to
cooperate with each is something that was missing at the back end of that uh government and so that that's the key point that I think you know there is a vast global economy vast Global Finance system all of that can be harnessed to much greater common good if we cooperate it's not about I mean exactly on on on the the last government I mean you were the most senior climate Diplomat until that post was act by the last government I mean what did that feel like in terms of you know exactly that commitment that you
say you're hoping to see and you're pleased to hear from the labor government today well it it was incredibly frustrating we had done a phenomenal job as a country to host cop 26 in Glasgow it was a an absolutely critical uh success after the Paris agreement and um it was very difficult then to see policies not just be not focused upon but actually to take steps back and to to sort of Reign in the ambition towards that zero CH make it a political football it was very unfortunate and and and quite hard I think for
many officials who'd you know pushed those balls up the up the hill so I think yes the fact that we've made the switch now on wind uh We've uh moved from sort of maxing out oil and gas to looking at cutting those licenses investing in cleaner cheaper more secure resources at home I think all these things show that we sort of making the shift towards reaccelerating and and the UK's been such a great leader on this for so many years and hopefully this is sign that we're back in that position Ellie CH really quickly if
you would I mean that rebuilding of reputation that um Nick bridge is talking about can we do it I really hope we can I think we want we need the government to sign up to the non-fossil fuel prolifer proliferation treaty we need the government to put their money where their mouth is in terms of investment in Energy Efficiency and fundamentally if we want to raise Finance to tackle the climate crisis then implement the pollut to pays principle tax the oil and gas giants going to have to end it there to both of you thanks very
much for talking to us today
