Wednesday 31 August 2022

Alok Sharma affirms UK commitment to Asian climate goals

COP26 President Alok Sharma has visited Vietnam and Indonesia to bolster Asian climate action ahead of COP27 and attend the next G20 summit.

Mr Sharma has affirmed the UK’s commitment to the Vietnam Just Energy Transition Partnership, which will see the country supported in its transition to net zero by 2050 – alongside the US, Germany, France, Japan and the EU.

Vietnam is hopeful of ditching coal in the coming years; with a new plan for 2030 being developed with the help of Mr Sharma himself.

The G20 conference in Bali is aiming to ensure all countries are doing their utmost to ensure 1.5°C remains a tangible aim.

Putin’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine is a key justification from Mr Sharma that these nations need to make the switch to renewables and deliver on promises made in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

He said: “The current energy crisis has demonstrated the vulnerability of countries relying on fossil fuels controlled by hostile actors.

“If countries don’t want the risk of being held to ransom, they should do all they can to achieve domestic energy security as fast as possible. Climate security has become synonymous with energy security and the chronic threat of climate change is not going away.”