The UK wants to see a deal at the UN climate conference that “accelerates the clean energy transition,” Ed Miliband has said.
The Energy Secretary said the country wanted a “good outcome” at Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Mr Miliband also said the UK’s national climate action plan, which was announced at the summit last week and pledged an 81% cut in domestic emissions by 2035, had “put Britain back on the map of global climate leadership”.
This year’s talks have been dogged by polarised positions over how much money rich countries should pay poorer ones and how to make progress on cutting down climate-heating greenhouse gas emissions.
But a growing sense of optimism emerged on Friday when the Cop29 presidency – Azerbaijan – released the latest draft of an agreement.
It showed countries closing in on a compromise over thorny issues such as climate finance and mitigation – although sticking points remained.
A UK Government source said: “The current text doesn’t make the headway we are looking for, but gives us a platform to negotiate from. There is a hard but achievable path ahead in the final hours- and that is what we are focusing on.”
This is an unstoppable transition. It's an unstoppable transition because it's the right thing ethically for intergenerational justice. But it's also an unstoppable transition because it's the right thing economically
Speaking to UK staff during a closing event at the UK’s pavilion, the Energy Secretary said the green transition was right both “ethically” and “economically”.
He said: “We don’t know what the outcome of this Cop is going to be. We want to achieve a good outcome for Britain and for the world.
“What is a good outcome? A good outcome is one that accelerates the clean energy transition.
“Why? Because it is right for tackling the climate crisis and for the face of future generations, and it is right economically for Britain because it will spur jobs and export opportunities and help businesses.”
The latest proposals from the Cop29 presidency included the long-awaited hard numbers on climate finance, meaning parties can enter the final stretch of negotiations and hammer out the details of a deal.
3/ As long as Britain remains exposed to the rollercoaster of global fossil fuel markets, we will be vulnerable to energy price rises over which we have no control.
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) November 22, 2024
Our clean energy mission is the only way to take back control of our energy, with cheaper and more secure power.
The core finance target put forward was 250 billion US dollars in public money and a wider goal of 1.3 trillion, including all kinds of finance to be flowing into poorer countries every year by 2035.
The proposals place developed countries – such as the UK, US, European nations and Australia – as “taking the lead” on providing this money to poorer countries to help them cope with the impacts of global warming and to green their economies.
It comes after developed countries argued that more nations, such as oil-rich Middle Eastern states and China, should also be required to pay climate finance.
Comparing this year’s climate summit to when he was last in the role of climate change secretary, the Energy Secretary said: “This feels very different This is an unstoppable transition.
“It’s an unstoppable transition because it’s the right thing ethically for intergenerational justice.
We have been very clear, that our clean energy superpower mission is about energy security, lower bills and good jobs and growth at home
“But it’s also an unstoppable transition because it’s the right thing economically.
“Because this is the way that countries are going to grow, countries are going to succeed, countries are going to create jobs, countries are going to get energy security.”
The UK has been pushing hard for a deal that includes specific reference to last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems” after it received significant pushback from some oil rich countries such as Saudi Arabia.
Offering his reflections on the talks, he said: “We have been very clear, that our clean energy superpower mission is about energy security, lower bills and good jobs and growth at home.
“And it is also about engaging with other countries, because we are only 1% of global emissions, and if we’re going to keep future generations safe, we’ve got to engage with those other countries responsible for the 99% of emissions.
“Because climate change knows no borders and that’s what our presence at Cop has been all about.”
Yes (the multilateral process is) imperfect. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it’s torturous. Yes, it always goes on beyond the deadline, but it moves and this transition is moving
After working through days of deadlock in Baku, he described the multilateral process as “incredibly hard and incredibly torturous” but added: “It’s the best process we’ve got.”
“Yes it’s imperfect. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it’s torturous. Yes, it always goes on beyond the deadline, but it moves and this transition is moving,” he said.
The Energy Secretary also praised the British team working on the ground at Cop29, calling them “an unbelievably inspiring bunch of people”.
The UK’s civil service staff had garnered “huge respect” among other countries during the negotiations, he said, adding that it was part of the reason the country was asked alongside Brazil to help the Cop29 presidency gather views from different countries.
