Foreign Office to push for global energy transformation, says Lammy

David Lammy intends to make tackling the climate and environment crisis a core part of his department’s remit, pledging the Foreign Office’s commitment to the global clean energy transition.

The Foreign Secretary will say Labour is “firing the starting gun” on its commitment to create a global clean energy alliance that will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and technology to help more countries achieve net zero emissions.

The alliance also aims to help countries “leapfrog” fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy systems through global investment and financing, as well as accelerate the supply of key minerals needed for power grids and energy storage.

He is expected to say in a speech on Tuesday: “This government has set itself a groundbreaking goal – to be the first major economy to deliver clean energy by 2030.

“We will use this ambition to build an alliance committed to accelerating the clean energy transition.

“And today we are firing the starting shot to form a new coalition.

“While some countries are making progress in this transformation, others are lagging behind.

“We need to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources around the world, just as our government is doing at home.”

Mr Lammy and the Foreign Office will push for ambitious climate finance and emissions reduction commitments at COP29, the department said in a statement.

It will restore the role of the UK Special Representative for Climate Change and create a new role as the UK Special Representative for Nature, tasked with helping to build partnerships between the UK and other countries.

They will report respectively to net zero emissions secretary Ed Miliband and environment secretary Steve Reed, as well as the foreign secretary.

Rishi Sunak’s government abolished the position of UK Special Representative for Climate Change in 2023, leaving the UK one of the few economic powers at Cop28 in November without a dedicated envoy.

Since taking office, the Labour government has lifted the de facto ban on onshore wind farms and pledged not to issue new licences for oil and gas exploration.

A new state-owned investment company in the energy sector, GB Energy, was also established to support the development of renewable energy sources.

The Foreign Secretary is expected to say: “This crisis is not some separate policy area, divorced from geopolitics, conflict and uncertainty.

“The threat may not seem as urgent as that from a terrorist or an imperialist autocrat.

“But it is more fundamental than that. It is systemic. It is pervasive. And accelerating toward us.

“Today I promise you that as long as I serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs, action on the climate and nature crisis will be a central element of all activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“This is key, given the scale of the threat, but also the scale of the opportunity.”