Reading West MP Alok Sharma: ‘This is a decisive decade for the planet’

Human activity is damaging our Earth. And the effects are now closing in.

And if we do not act now, the science tells us these effects will become more frequent and more brutal.

If we choose to act, there is another future possible. One with clean air. And nature restored. Where the world is protected from the worst effects of climate change. And where we create jobs and prosperity, without harming the planet.

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In 2015, the world signed the Paris Agreement. An international deal to tackle the climate crisis, which commits us to limit global temperature rises to well below two degrees, aiming for 1.5.

That 1.5 degree target is critical. The science shows, that a temperature rise of two degrees, rather than 1.5, would mean hundreds of millions more people affected.

But since the target was set, the world has not done nearly enough.

And now, to keep 1.5 degrees within reach, we must halve global emissions by 2030. This is the decisive decade.

This is what makes the next United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, COP26, so critical.

As COP26 President I am pressing for action around four key goals.

Our first goal is to put the world on a path to driving down emissions, until they reach net zero by the middle of this century.

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So we are asking all countries to set targets to get us to net zero by the middle of the century, and to come forward with 2030 emissions reduction targets to take us there.

Our second goal is to protect people and nature.

Having been born in India, a proud British citizen, and having spent time as Secretary of State for International Development, I am committed that this COP will deliver for the communities most vulnerable to climate change.

We need to work together to enable and encourage countries affected by climate change to build flood defences and climate resilient infrastructure, to introduce early warning systems, and plant crops resistant to climate extremes.

To facilitate this, we have launched the Adaptation Action Coalition where countries can share and scale solutions.

Our third goal involves mobilising finance to tackle climate change.

Without adequate finance, the task ahead is near impossible.

The UK is playing its part, doubling our international climate finance to £11.6 billion over five years.

We are also working to get private finance flowing, and collaborating with donors and development banks to create investment opportunities in emerging markets.

Our fourth goal is working together.

Encouraging cooperation across borders and across society to keep the 1.5 degree target in reach.

This means bringing businesses and civil society on board, behind our COP26 goals and building up international collaboration in critical sectors.

And wWe need every country to play its part, so that we address every issue, and reach a balanced agreement, when we meet around the negotiating table at COP26.