PRESS RELEASE : This government will show global leadership on the climate crisis – UK statement at the UN [September 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 September 2024.

Statement by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Sea-Level Rise.

Can I say what a privilege it is to address this incredibly important session here at the United Nations.

I want to start by saying that in the new United Kingdom government, you have a partner that wants to show global leadership on these critical issues around the climate crisis.

And we want to show that global leadership in three ways.

First of all, we have come to this session to show solidarity with all of those states around the world that are threatened by sea-level rise.

We know the combined threats of sea-level rise, climate change and increasing extreme weather events, which disproportionately impact Small Island Developing States, and indeed other coastal states.

You are on the front line of the crisis and are leading the way to protect our oceans, and we must listen and learn from your experiences, and indeed come together to address the challenges you face.

Secondly, we have a government in the UK that is willing to tell the truth about where we are, as we all must do.

We are way off-track from where we need to be to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees, and this is something we must confront in the months and years ahead.

And thirdly, a government in the UK that is determined to lead by example, and then use that to show international leadership too.

It might interest this session to know that we won a general election on the basis of bold climate action –

a pledge not to issue new oil and gas licenses,

a pledge to decarbonise our power system by 2030,

a pledge to ensure that we had a Nationally Determined Contribution consistent with 1.5 degrees.

My pledge to you on the global stage is that we will act with the boldness that the situation demands.

We will publish our NDC well ahead of COP30 in Brazil, and it will be bold, and it will be consistent with 1.5 degrees.

We will be participants that argue for a strong and scaled-up finance goal as part of the NCQG; reform of the Multilateral Development Banks; and indeed, operationalising the Fund for Loss and Damage that was agreed last year at COP28.

The world has been waiting for too long. Now is not simply the time for bold words, it is the time for bold action.

And in the new United Kingdom government, you have a government committed to take that action in partnership with states around the world, particularly those states threatened by sea-level rise.

Thank you very much.