UK must not ‘fall at the last hurdle’ in Paris talks, CBI warns

The CBI has urged the UK government that it cannot afford to fall at the last hurdle in securing a climate deal at the UN talks in Paris over the coming weeks.

Around 190 countries will this week begin talks at COP21 negotiations in Paris in the hopes of striking an ambitious, global climate deal.

CBI director of business environment policy Rhian Kelly said the climate change conference is “a golden opportunity to create the long-term policy frameworks that businesses crave”.

“So much effort has been put into agreeing frameworks ready for Paris, we simply cannot afford to fall at the last hurdle, and delay a lasting, global plan for climate action. All businesses, especially energy-intensive industries, will be looking for an international deal which helps create a level playing field, and that keeps the UK competitive,” Kelly said.

The UK has said it will push hard for an ambitious global climate deal.

In a letter to the Energy and Climate Change Committee Secretary of State Amber Rudd said the government would push for:

– An ambitious global deal to mitigate climate change;
– A five-yearly cycle of reviews that would provide the opportunity to reflect on progress and increase ambition;
– Legally-binding rules to help ensure transparency and accountability;
– A long-term goal that will provide a clear signal of the commitment to a low-carbon future and help provide certainty for investment at the scale required;
– An effective climate finance offer to bring all nations on board and to support the most vulnerable to take action towards moving to a low-carbon economy and against the impacts of climate change.

But domestic developments threaten to undermine the credibility of the UK government’s stance following a flurry of cuts to renewables, energy efficiency and carbon capture and storage.

The UK will be leaning on its EMR legacy in creating a framework for low carbon investment, and Rudd’s latest proposal to ban coal-fired power generation from 2025.

“We are committed to getting a global deal in Paris, which will create a level playing field for businesses, driving innovation and growing the low carbon economy,” a spokesman for Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said.