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Britain must address climate change inequality in Commonwealth

by Joe Ware | Christian Aid - UK
Friday, 20 April 2018 08:37 GMT

FILE PHOTO: A bus crosses Waterloo bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament during a misty morning in London April 13, 2012. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

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* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Britain is badly lagging behind its poorer Commonwealth allies in doing its fair share of the global effort to tackle climate change

Commonwealth leaders arrive in London this week for the high level finale of CHOGM, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.  As Theresa May lays out the red carpet for potential, post-Brexit, trading allies, the best thing she could do for the "family of nations" would be to help fix the twin demons of energy poverty and climate change.

Britain’s former colonies are remarkably vulnerable to the ravages of extreme weather, rising temperatures and sea level rise.  The top five most exposed countries in Germanwatch’s latest Climate Risk Index 2017 are all Commonwealth nations: Mozambique, Dominica, Malawi, India and Vanuatu.

Indeed this summit was supposed to be held in Vanuatu last year but had to be moved to London because of the damage caused to the Pacific island’s infrastructure by Cyclone Pam in 2015.

Britain likes to talk up its close relationship with Commonwealth countries with warm words of "shared values" and "solidarity". And yet new analysis from Christian Aid has shown that the UK is badly lagging behind its poorer Commonwealth allies in doing its fair share of the global effort to tackle climate change.

The new report, Climate inequality in the Commonwealth, reveals that due to their emissions and relative wealth, the UK, Canada and Australia are in the red, while poorer countries like Bangladesh and Zambia are overachieving. Small island states vulnerable to sea level rise like Kiribati and Tuvalu are also in credit.

The UK cannot claim to stand in solidarity with the people of the Pacific when those citizens face the prospect of having their homes washed away, in part thanks UK carbon emissions. In fact, the UK burns more carbon dioxide per person than 18 Commonwealth countries combined.

Due to its historic emissions the UK cannot do its fair share within its own borders, it needs to also help displace emissions abroad.  It can do this by investing in clean energy in Commonwealth countries, many of whom have huge untapped renewable energy potential. 

To meet its obligations the UK needs to mitigate 700 metric tonnes of C02 internationally by 2030, which equates to 1,730 terawatt hours of renewable electricity. When combined with Canada’s need to mitigate 620 metric tonnes of C02 (1,530 terawatt hours electricity) the two countries alone could eradicate energy poverty in the Commonwealth, which stands at a needed 2,050 terawatt hours.

Both nations have done great work spearheading their Powering Past Coal Alliance, a growing group of national and regional governments promising to phase out coal use.  But what better way of showing that the UK and Canada care for the world’s poorest people than by providing clean power to those that need it? And if Britain hopes Commonwealth countries become a rich source of trade it will need their people to have access to electricity.

CHOGM comes at the perfect moment to act. This year the world is engaging with the Talanoa Dialogue, the ‘review and ratchet’ process which will see nations strengthening their emission reduction pledges that made up the Paris Agreement.

If Britain wants to be taken seriously as a climate leader that truly wants the Commonwealth to be a modern and thriving entity, then it should stop shirking its responsibilities and step up its investment for those that desperately need it.

Joe Ware is media manager of Christian Aid UK

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