The world faces immense challenges over energy and food insecurity. Over the next few weeks we will hear arguments in this conservative leadership contest that the environment is a peripheral concern; that instead of leading the transition to cleaner, greener energy sources and driving the world into action for the global environment, we need to pause and turn inward, and that doing so will somehow save money and we will be popular. These arguments are incorrect at all levels.
Energy insecurity and the consequent doubling of our energy bill is directly related to our continued dependence on fossil fuels, a dependence that is also destabilizing the climate. The answer is to speed up the transition to clean green energy. Just look at the numbers: money invested in energy efficiency provides much higher returns than money invested in new energy capacity.
But environmental concerns go beyond carbon. There is no prospect of tackling climate change without massive efforts to restore and protect nature. The UK has led fundraising efforts to protect the vast Congo Basin, and we have done so not only because its destruction means the permanent loss of precious biodiversity, or even because of Congo’s role in storage. of billions of tons of carbon, but to let him know that if the forests of the Congo go away, so will the rains in much of Africa, and with it the agriculture that feeds hundreds of millions of people. The humanitarian crisis and the subsequent refugee crisis would be more than the world could cope with.
Voters understand that these are not peripheral issues, and unless we take ourselves seriously when addressing them, voters will rightly distance themselves from conservatives. We have a record of pride as a celebration of nature: it has been in our DNA to preserve, protect and leave our environment in a better place for future generations. Since 2010, we have made great strides in reducing our carbon dioxide emissions by almost 50% and introduced major changes to animal welfare regulations.
Cop26 was the biggest unplanned test of “Global Britain” in the post-Brexit scene, and the biggest international summit we have ever hosted. When we took over the presidency, only 30% of the world economy was covered by zero net commitments. Today it is 90 percent. Some 65 countries pledged to phase out coal, including four of the world’s top 20 coal-producing countries. And fundamentally, we achieved unprecedented commitments from 143 countries representing 90% of the world’s forests to protect these vital ecosystems for all of humanity.
This leadership continues. Last month it was the UK that demanded and secured historic promises from G7 member states on nature funding. It is the UK that leads the coalitions of more than 100 countries calling for the protection of 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.
At the national level, polls have consistently shown that voters care. In a recent poll of more than 3,000 voters in marginal seats on the Red Wall, the fight against climate change and the environment was cited as the second most important issue behind the NHS. About 53% wanted more action on climate change, compared to 9% who did not.
This is no surprise, given that Red Wall seats are where renewable industries are leading a revolution in green jobs. Mayor Ben Houchen was re-elected with 73 percent of the vote in the Tees Valley putting zero net at the center of his re-election campaign.
The environment is also a priority for conservative Blue Wall seats facing the Lib Dem challenges in the south. If we disconnect our climate commitments, we will be able to see how these seats turn yellow on election night in two years ’time.
Some candidates already promise to abandon our commitments to the climate and the environment, and others maintain a nefarious silence. However, if we rule out the UK’s international leadership on the environment, we will lose the support of a broad coalition of voters. We will dig our electoral grave.
Zac Goldsmith is the Minister of the International Environment. Chris Skidmore is the Kingswood MP.