Britain has long claimed, and still does claim, to be a global leader on climate action.
Yet, discourse does not always reflect reality. This report seeks to explore whether there is still plausibility behind Britain’s claim to climate leadership.
Climate leadership does matter – if climate change is viewed as an ethical problem, then there is a moral imperative for leadership. If it is an economic problem, then climate leadership allows countries to shape the economic model of the 21st century. If it is a political problem, leadership is a soft power opportunity, allowing countries to show others how to navigate this pernicious challenge.
To explore whether Britain’s claims to climate leadership are credible, this report considers the historic roots of Britain’s claim, what it has done to justify the claim, and how the claim emerges with plausibility.
The report then tracks how the claim to leadership status has been undermined by the erosion of the UKs mainstream political consensus on the importance of climate action post-COP26.
It analyses the performance of the Labour Government in attempting to reassert the UKs climate credentials and concludes with an assessment of Britain’s current position in relation to international climate leadership, and what role there is left for climate leadership in the present international context.
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