Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
Recommendation 3
Third Report - Net Zero and UN Climate Summits: Scrutiny of Preparations for COP26 – interim report
Published 5 Mar 2021
Paragraph 11
Addressed to Department for Business and Trade
Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee Net zero and UN climate summits All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The success of COP26 is dependent on effective diplomacy. It remains unclear whether the COP26 Unit has been assigned a dedicated diplomatic team, nor the extent to which the diplomatic network is engaged further than having received correspondence from the Foreign and Development Secretary. We recommend that the COP26 President, alongside the Prime Minister and Foreign and Development Secretary, make it publicly clear that the full force of the British civil service is being appropriately applied to secure the desired outcomes from COP26 this November.
From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, Third Report - Net Zero and UN Climate Summits: Scrutiny of Preparations for COP26 – interim report (HC 1265), paragraph 11, 5 March 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 17 May 2021 (deadline 5 May 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 COP26 goals and how progress is monitored, but on most of the Committee's requests it commits only to update Parliament "in due course", and on the sixth carbon budget it will "consider in detail" the CCC's advice.
- On measuring success, it restates five goals for the UK Presidency and says progress is monitored through two committees chaired by the Prime Minister and the COP President Designate, and by tracking commitments mandated by the Paris Agreement.
- On scrutiny, it says the COP26 President "has agreed to select committee appearances in line with the proposal from committee chairs", shared with ministerial colleagues and officials given his travel. On recess dates, the Leader of the House will inform the House "in due course".
- On the delegation and covid-19 arrangements, it says the delegation is still being finalised and health protection and contingency measures "remain in development". It will update Parliament "in due course" and is "considering robust contingency plans".
- On the sixth carbon budget, it does not commit to accepting the advice in full. It will write to the Committee "once the timetable for laying the statutory instrument has been agreed" and will take into account the recommendations of the Climate Assembly UK.