Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 8
Seventh Report: A climate for ambition: Diplomatic preparations for COP26
Published 19 Apr 2021
Paragraph 26
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Foreign Affairs Committee Environmental diplomacy All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The UK has a strong record for building coalitions for climate action, such as the High Ambition Coalition at UN climate negotiations, and it could build upon this A climate for ambition: Diplomatic preparations for COP26 21 during its COP Presidency. Summits such as the global summit on climate and development provide an important opportunity to influence those countries most affected by the impacts of climate change. The UK Government should look to build overlapping circles of interest to build support for change and to drive forward global ambition. Building on partnerships that may be temporary, the UK should enable with staff support, though not always lead, groups of low-lying states, island nations, developing economies, high ambition states, and vulnerable country groups, amongst others, building on the work of the Small Island Developing States. We recommend that the FCDO make use of their relationships with the previous Chilean hosts, the Italian co-presidents, and other regional partners to build a network of sectoral leaders to help secure a worldwide push for increased climate ambition. The UK’s Presidency should be viewed as organisational and enabling.
From: Foreign Affairs Committee, Seventh Report: A climate for ambition: Diplomatic preparations for COP26 (HC 202), paragraph 26, 19 April 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 June 2021 (deadline 19 June 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out its work towards COP26 and makes a number of specific commitments, while stating that carbon pricing "is not a mandated discussion for COP26, and so will not be an outcome".
- On integrating climate into wider foreign policy, the government says "We agree about the need to take a holistic approach" and cites a Fossil Fuels Policy from 31 March 2021 and a new rule on aligning ODA with the Paris Agreement.
- On future presidencies and the African COP27 Presidency, it will "continue to use the UK's diplomatic convening power after COP26", but "Specific decisions on resourcing and structures beyond this year will be taken as part of the next Spending Review".
- On the international development strategy, it will "set out what this means for the UK's international development offer in our forthcoming international development strategy", without giving a date.
- On Covid-19, its "intent remains to hold the main conference in person"; it will provide vaccines for delegates unable to access them, and will give further details on contingency planning to Parliament "in due course".