Can the UK become a global climate leader?

A rare event occurred in the UK this week: positive news about the fight against climate change.

As around 45,000 people descended on the capital for London Climate Action Week, it emerged that the country has passed a considerable milestone in its bid to decarbonise.

The UK is now the first major economy to halve emissions of planet-heating gases since 1990, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the independent body that rates the UK’s progress on meeting its climate goals. It comes after the country completed its phase-out of coal power in September with the closure of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant in Nottinghamshire.

The CCC said the UK had made encouraging progress under Labour in renewable energy generation, as well as in the takeup of electric vehicles and heat pumps. As a result, it was now “more optimistic” that the country could meet its mid- and long-term climate targets.

It also noted that the pace of change could still be improved – and that we can do better to reduce our energy waste and reliance on expensive gas. But overall, the CCC said that the UK can “be proud of its place among a leading group of economies demonstrating consistent and sustained decarbonisation”. It suggests the government is serious about its aim to lead by example on the climate.

But despite contributing less than 1% of the emissions that worsen the climate crisis, the UK still takes a big share of the responsibility for causing it. There’s more it must do internationally – especially on climate finance for poorer nations – if it wants to earn the leadership mantle at a crucial set of global climate talks in Belém, Brazil, in November.

Political tensions

Europe’s biggest city-wide climate festival, London Climate Action Week hosted over 700 events – from fashion shows and low-carbon menu tastings to advice sessions for lawyers and accountants on how to prepare for climate change.

Ed Matthew, programme director at the climate thinktank E3G (whose director founded London Climate Action Week), said recent measures had increased confidence in the UK’s emissions reductions plan. “There’s no question that this strengthens the government’s credibility on the international stage,” he said.

However, Matthew warned that these were “no panacea” and that the advance of the climate-sceptic Reform UK party had forced the government to play down its green ambitions.

“Other countries will be watching the UK domestic political situation and the rise of Reform with concern,” said Matthew. “They will be worried that after the next election in 2029, the UK could end up with a government that does significant damage to the transition and dumps the 2050 net-zero target. Such a scenario would utterly wreck the UK’s climate leadership credentials.”

Tessa Khan, founder of climate campaign group Uplift, said the government’s emphasis on renewable energy and its economic opportunities, as well as public support for action, mean the UK has what it takes to be a climate leader. However, she said the country needs better infrastructure to support renewable energy growth and it still suffers from an “Achilles heel” in the form of oil and gas.

“No country can claim to be leading on climate while it allows the development of new fossil fuel projects, when fossil fuels are driving the crisis,” Khan said, adding that the drilling for oil in the North Sea was incompatible with the UK’s climate commitments.

In January, a Scottish judge ruled that permissions granted to Norwegian company Equinor to drill in the North Sea’s Rosebank field was unlawful because it failed to account for the climate damage caused by burning the fuel extracted. In response, the government issued new guidance to companies on counting the environmental costs of extraction. With this, Equinor will likely reapply for permission later this year.

“If [the UK] wants to go into November’s critical climate talks in Brazil and hope to inspire other countries to increase their ambition, it must reject [Equinor’s application],” Khan said. She also said the Treasury can do more to support the oil industry’s workforce to ensure the fossil fuel phase-out is fair.

“If the government is serious about taking on Reform UK and its opposition to net zero, it needs to really deliver for workers,” she said.

‘A long legacy to account for’

Sam Hampton, a research fellow at the University of Bath, spoke about the “optics” of the UK’s decision on North Sea oil licences. “By continuing to licence fossil fuel extraction, the government is missing an opportunity to give a clear signal at home and internationally that it is serious about climate action,” he said.

“The industrial revolution started here, which means we started emitting greenhouse gases from fossil fuels before any other country. The emissions from Victorian factories remain in the atmosphere even today. So while we may only contribute around 1% of global emissions today, we have a long legacy to account for,” Hampton said.

Natalie Unterstell, founder of Brazil-based climate thinktank Talanoa Institute, said that although the UK’s recent progress was encouraging and it has a track record in international climate diplomacy, the Cop30 talks in Brazil offer a vital chance for rich countries to build bridges with those suffering the effects of the climate crisis.

“Historical responsibility comes with a duty to act,” she said. “For countries like the UK, that means more than cutting emissions at home. It means showing solidarity with those facing the worst climate impacts, despite having contributed the least.”

Unterstell, a former Brazilian climate negotiator, added: “The UK helped shape the fossil-fuelled world we inherited, and now it must help shape the low-carbon, resilient world we urgently need. That means stepping up on climate finance and supporting countries facing the sharp edge of the crisis. Cop30 will be a litmus test for whether trust can be rebuilt.”

Yet the UK’s decision to cut overseas aid could mean less finance for countries dealing with climate change, according to Matthew. He said: “This position will lead to accusations that they are back-tracking on their commitments to raise $1.3 trillion for climate action in developing countries.”

Courage will also be needed to resist overtures from the fossil fuel industry, which in recent years has sent thousands of lobbyists to Cop climate talks.

Khan said the UK is still grappling with a powerful industry that is used to getting its way on government policy. She said the fight is on to ensure recent progress is not derailed.

“This industry is purely driven by the pursuit of profit. In recent years, it has been content to make obscene amounts of money while millions of people – the elderly, families, vulnerable people – have struggled to heat their homes,” Khan said.

“We cannot allow their profiteering to trump the public interest and our need for an affordable and reliable supply of energy that doesn’t endanger future generations.”

[ Europeans TODAY ]