What did the UK achieve for global climate at COP28? Energy Minister Graham Stuart to appear before EAC
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) will hold an evidence session with Energy Security and Net Zero Minister, Graham Stuart MP, on the outcomes of COP28. Minister Stuart led the UK delegation to COP28, the UN-led international climate action conference, which was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates between 30 November and 12 December 2023.
Meeting details
At COP28, states party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change reached the ‘UAE Consensus’ which – for the first time in any COP text – referenced transitioning away from all fossil fuels. Members will be keen to explore this commitment further with Minister Stuart, as well as his thoughts on the global community ‘keeping 1.5°C alive’ – keeping to within the global climate ceiling set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The evidence session comes on the day that EAC is expected to publish a report from its current inquiry into ‘Heat resilience and sustainable cooling’. Minister Stuart is likely to be asked about the Global Cooling Pledge – agreed at COP28 – that saw participating states, including the UK, commit to reduce their cooling-related domestic emissions across all sectors by at least 68% globally, relative to 2022 levels, by 2050.
Domestically, MPs may ask about how the Government is integrating climate and nature action, in the context of the Office for Environmental Protection’s recent monitoring report indicating that progress towards meeting environmental targets for England is largely off-track.
The Committee held an evidence session with Minister Stuart on the Government’s priorities for the negotiations in November, prior to the conference.