Speaking at the Cop29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, Keir Starmer vowed to cut polluting greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels
Keir Starmer has announced a new ambitious target to tackle climate change with massive cuts to emissions in the next decade.
At a press conference in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, the PM vowed to cut polluting greenhouse gas emissions by 81% compared with 1990 levels by 2035. This figure was recommended by the Independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) earlier this year.
They said last month it was “ambitious” but made a “credible contribution” to international efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The PM said: “Our goal of 1.5 degrees is aligned with our goals for growth, but a global problem also requires global partnership and responsible international cooperation – which is why I took the opportunity at this Cop to again urge all parties to come forward with ambitious targets of their own.”
The PM said the UK “will lead the way” in the battle against climate change. He pledged not to “start dictating to people what to do” – adding the Government will not “tell people how to live their lives”.
Mr Starmer said he would oversee the creation of new green infrastructre and thousands of jobs, telling the summit: “The race is on for the clean energy jobs of the future, the economy of tomorrow. I don’t want to be in the middle of the pack, I want to get ahead of the game.”
The announcement has been branded a “step in the right direction” by environmental campaigners – but Mr Starmer was told there’s a long way to go. Friends of the Earth’s head of campaigns, Rosie Downes, said: “With the warning signals flashing red, a planet battered by increasingly severe floods, storms and heatwaves, and the election of climate denier President Trump, the need for climate leadership by the UK has never been more urgent.
“Keir Starmer’s 2035 carbon-reduction pledge is a step in the right direction but must be seen as a floor to the level of ambition not a ceiling. Deeper, faster cuts are needed to help avert the climate collision course we are on.
“Furthermore, if these targets are to be credible, they must be backed by a clear plan to ensure they are met. The UK’s existing 2030 commitment is currently way off course.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband declared that “Britain is back in the business of climate leadership” after the Tories rolled back on commitments in previous years.
Mr Miliband said at the Cop29 summit the new commitment will “protect our environment, deliver energy security and restore our global climate reputation”. He added: “We will cut emissions across the country, delivering for our environment and ending our exposure to spiking fossil fuel markets.”
But Mr Starmer insisted he will not be “telling people how to live their lives” including taking fewer flights and eating less meat as part of the plans to reach the target. He said the target would be “difficult” but “achievable”.
He added: “But it’s not about telling people how to live their lives. I’m not interested in that. I am interested in making sure that their energy bills are stable, that we’ve got energy independence, and that we also, along the way, pick up the next generation of jobs.”
Earlier in the day UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a stark warning to Cop29 saying the world is in the “final countdown” to limit devastating global heating and “time is not on our side.”
He called “2024 – a masterclass in climate destruction” and said it was a story of “avoidable injustice” with the rich causing the problem and the poor paying the highest price. He added: “Floods tearing through communities, and tearing down infrastructure. Children going to bed hungry as droughts ravage crops.
“All these disasters, and more, are being supercharged by human-made climate change. And no country is spared.”
But he said that “there is every reason to hope” with nations having already pledged to transition away from fossil fuels at last year’s Cop28. “It’s time to deliver and humanity is behind you.”
