As the COP28 summit begins in Dubai, ActionAid UK is warning that the UK’s anti-climate policies at home threaten climate progress on the global stage.
Zahra Hdidou, Senior Climate and Resilience Adviser at ActionAid UK, said:
“As Rishi Sunak lands in Dubai, we are deeply concerned by the message the UK government is sending to countries in the Global South affected by its alarming inaction on climate change. Ahead of the COP summit this week, the UK claims that it is more ambitious on climate than any other major economy, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. As it issues licenses for over 100 new oil and gas fields and fails to provide a proper roadmap on how it will deliver £11.6bn in loss and damage finance to climate-stricken countries, the UK’s decisions today will continue to cause environmental catastrophe well into the future and cause immense harm to women and girls disproportionately affected by climate breakdown.”
Over the last century, the UK has continued to reap huge financial rewards from fossil fuel expansion while causing environmental catastrophe the world over. As the UK has the fourth highest historic carbon emissions in the world, it has an historic responsibility to address climate change, but currently its words don’t match its actions.
Hdidou continues; “The UK is also the heart of the global financial sector, which our recent research found has poured hundreds of billions of pounds into fossil fuels and agribusinesses since the Paris Agreement. With UK banks like HSBC and Barclays among the largest funders of climate chaos, it also has a responsibility to regulate the sector, ensuring that money stops flowing towards climate-wrecking industries. Instead of accelerating investments into fossil fuels and continuing its harmful, polluting legacy, it should show strong leadership in Dubai and commit to phasing out fossil fuels entirely.
“In just two years after hosting COP, the UK has rolled back on the progress it made in Glasgow and trashed its reputation on the global stage. We’re rapidly approaching the point of no return and yet the UK is still pumping billions of pounds into fossil fuel industries while slashing climate funding - policies it knows full well will endanger the lives of billons and threaten the future of our planet. The UK must end its fossil fuel addiction, radically scale up loss and damage funding, and provide urgent leadership on climate action.”
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Contact the ActionAid UK press office on uk.media@actionaid.org or on 07753 973 486.
Zahra Hdidou, Senior Climate and Resilience Adviser at ActionAid UK, is in Dubai for the summit for both weeks and available for comment on request. Please contact the press office to arrange.