Climate change is the greatest challenge facing the world today. It is a global issue that demands a global response, and all countries need to be part of the solution.

The UK's role

At the international level the UK plays a leading role, working through the European Union, G8 and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to find ways to reach global agreement on action to avert dangerous climate change. Our goal is to stabilise atmospheric greenhouse gas levels so that we avoid dangerous climate change, and to adapt to the climate change that is unavoidable. The British and Spanish governments are working with other European partners to ensure that global warming does not increase by more than 2°C above pre-industrial times to avoid dangerous impacts.

Colaboration

Crucial to achieving this goal is securing a global agreement to a realistic, robust, durable and fair framework for the post-2012 period, when the first set of targets under the Kyoto Protocol expires. The  Foreign Secretary David Miliband – formerly Environment Secretary – has made climate change a central pillar of the UK's foreign policy and named John Ashton, an experienced diplomat and climate negotiator, as his Climate Ambassador.

Working alongside Ministers and colleagues from other government departments and the global network of over 200 Posts, John’s job is to engage with governments, business and civil society around the world, building the alliances that will make agreement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 possible.

Britain and Spain are working together to help build a low-carbon, high growth global economy - we both agree the financial crisis should not prevent us action on the climate crisis. As the London Summit reaffirmed, we need to build a “resilient, sustainable, and green recovery” via a move to “clean, innovative, resource efficient, low carbon technologies and infrastructure”.

Climate change and the economy

A failure to act on climate change will have devastating economic impacts; conversely, moving to an energy-efficient, clean fuels future will generate jobs and prevent the waste of resources and money. The UK's own efforts to address climate change have gone hand in hand with economic growth. Between 1990 and 2005, the UK economy grew by over 30% while greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 12%. The landmark Stern Review of the Economic Impacts of Climate Change found that under conservative assumptions, the overall costs and risks of doing nothing will be equivalent to losing 5% of global GDP each year, while the costs of action could be limited to 1% of global GDP each year.

Setting targets and meeting objectives

The UK became the first country in the world to set legally binding, long-term national targets via the Climate Change Bill which entered into force in November 2008. Under the terms of the Act, the first climate change budgets  were announced in April 2009 which commit the UK to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2022. Over the longer-term, the goal is to reduce by 80% by 2050, in line with the recommendation by the independent Committee on Climate Change, whose job it is to advise the government on setting carbon budgets, and to report to Parliament on the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Meeting this goal will equate to 1-2% of the nation's total GDP by 2050 - the equivalent of losing six months' growth over 50 years against a backdrop in which wealth has tripled – and, in the process, will help us meet our part of the European Union’s 20% reduction target [PDF].