environment, notjust climate change, but the environment, than the uk. and that s recognised by countries all around the world. so when that first pledge was made by prime ministerjohnson at the un general assembly, there was huge applause, particularly from the climate vulnerable nations, from the commonwealth, more than half of whose members are small island states. this meant something big to them, this was the uk massive declaration, we want to be leaders in this space, we want to back you up against what you believe. many of these nations, in fact all small island states ..is an existential threat. and to then break that promise which we are and really what s disappointing, i think, in the last couple of months, is that the government has been allowed to say that it s maintaining that pledge, that it s committed to 11.6. so, they re lying 7 your contention is, the government is lying? i mean, a lie implies they know what they re doing, and it s perfectly possible that
countries in the world. that is, when you go to the un, you re not hearing from america, uk, germany, france, you re hearing from the most vulnerable countries in the world. those are the countries that are demanding international leadership and action, particularly from countries like ours, but they re doing it as well. the second point is that almost all of the steps that we need to take in order to deal with climate change are steps that we re going to have to take in any case. these are sort of win win policies. there s that very good meme doing the rounds on social media what happens if we re wrong about climate change and we end up with cleaner air, cheaper energy, more decentralised grid and less pollution? and that is the truth. i mean, when it comes to things like carbon capture and storage, that is something perhaps that we wouldn t be doing if it wasn t for climate change, but that s pretty much the only exception. solar power has come down 90% in cost since the banking cr
and we can listen to one or two siren voices in the conservative party and decide to pour public money into propping up a system that s going obsolete, but if we do that, we ll be left behind and other countries will win that competition. it patently is more than a few siren voices, because we ve discussed what rishi sunak is actually doing, and some of the stuff he s doing, you do not like, that s quite clear. but that s why i made the distinction between policy and language. the problem, and i notice this as a minister, is that the language matters as well. so, even while in many respects, the policy is not going to change we ll get a bit of whistle blowing by the prime minister, but the policies aren t really going to. yeah, but hang on. ..but the message is having a big impact in government, it s rippling through the civil service. we re almost out of time and it s been a fascinating debate. i just want to know how you are going to try and leverage influence now that you ve left
in the uk, but the truth is, internationally, there is no more important voice on the international stage when it comes to the environment, notjust climate change, but the environment, than the uk. and that s recognised by countries all around the world. so when that first pledge was made by prime ministerjohnson at the un general assembly, there was huge applause, particularly from the climate vulnerable nations, from the commonwealth, more than half of whose members are small island states. this meant something big to them, this was the uk massive declaration, we want to be leaders in this space, we want to back you up against what you believe. many of these nations, in fact all small island states ..is an existential threat. and to then break that promise which we are and really what s disappointing, i think, in the last couple of months, is that the government has been allowed to say that it s maintaining that pledge, that it s committed to 11.6. so, they re lying 7 yo
the market is hurtling in this direction. that s where the jobs are, the opportunities are. and we can listen to one or two siren voices in the conservative party and decide to pour public money into propping up a system that s going obsolete, but if we do that, we ll be left behind and other countries will win that competition. it patently is more than a few siren voices, because we ve discussed what rishi sunak is actually doing, and some of the stuff he s doing, you do not like, that s quite clear. but that s why i made the distinction between policy and language. the problem, and i notice this as a minister, is that the language matters as well. so, even while in many respects, the policy is not going to change we ll get a bit of whistle blowing by the prime minister, but the policies aren t really going to. yeah, but hang on. ..but the message is having a big impact in government, it s rippling through the civil service. we re almost out of time and it s been a fascinating debat