World Climate Conference: «Money. Money. Cars. Trees. »: Boris Johnson’s plan for the climate

World Climate Conference
“Money. Money. Cars. Trees. »: Boris Johnson’s plan for the climate

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants COP26 to be a success. Photo: Leon Neal / POOL GETTY / AP / dpa

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In Glasgow, Great Britain, as host of the World Climate Conference, wants to convince the biggest polluters to devote themselves to the fight against the climate crisis. But the British also have some catching up to do.

“Money. Money. Cars. Trees. ” – This is how Boris Johnson, who likes to wrap his politics in slogans in a few words, sums up his climate policy priorities.

Some of them should be given significantly more for the benefit of the planet (trees, money), others should very quickly be burned much less (coal). As the host of the world climate conference COP26, the British Prime Minister is currently pretending to be a pioneer in matters of climate protection. Time to take a closer look at the green paint.

Britain aims to become climate neutral by 2050. Emissions are to be reduced by 78 percent by 2035, and by at least 68 percent by 2030. That is more than other countries promise, but it is still a long way in the future. A few days before heads of state and government from all over the world will meet in Glasgow, the British government is now presenting overdue measures that should pave the way to the goals.

British action

A major weak point, for which the activists from Insulate Britain, among others, are calling for massive improvements, are the often poorly insulated, gas-heated houses in Great Britain: They have caused around a fifth of British CO2 emissions in recent years. Households in England and Wales are now to receive a grant of 5000 pounds (around 5910 euros) if they swap their gas boilers for more climate-friendly heat pumps. In addition, no new gas boilers are to be installed from 2035 onwards.

However, critics point out that this is not a ban, just a declaration of intent. In addition, environmental organizations consider the planned 450 million pounds over the next three years to be insufficient. According to the Resolution Foundation, around 90,000 heat pumps can be subsidized. However, the independent Climate Change Committee, which advises the government, says: 450,000 heat pumps would be necessary by 2025 to keep the targets set within reach.

Do not rush

Johnson made it clear in a guest article in the “Sun” that “the green shirts of the boiler police with their sandal-clad feet will not kick in the door” to remove the old boiler , he wrote – allegedly to appease conservative voters for whom protecting the planet is not a top priority.

Phase out coal and e-cars

On the other hand, Great Britain has a lot ahead of Germany when it comes to phasing out coal: the last coal-fired power station is to be shut down as early as 2024. Instead, the country continues to rely on nuclear power as a transition technology, and new power plants are still being planned. At the same time, they want to become the “Saudi Arabia of wind energy” and also deal with the problem of rising energy prices with domestic green electricity, much of it from offshore wind farms. The current wind power output of ten gigawatts is to be quadrupled by 2030. According to a BBC report, this would provide enough electricity for all households in the country.

The new plans also include getting more electric cars on the streets. From 2030 petrol and diesel vehicles will no longer be sold. There are grants for charging stations and the purchase of clean vehicles in the amount of 620 million pounds.

In the Climate Action Tracker, which systematically analyzes the targets set by states, the United Kingdom receives the rating “almost sufficient” (status: mid-September) with regard to the Paris target of a maximum global warming of 1.5 degrees. However, so far there has been a large gap between the stated goals and concrete measures, write the experts. In the Climate Action Tracker, Germany has so far been well behind Great Britain with a rating of “inadequate”.

The British Treasury, which in Westminster is more of a brake on climate protection, came to the conclusion in a recent report that “the costs of global inaction far exceed the costs of action”. You have to develop new sources of finance and should not continue to borrow, it said.

Principle of hope

Where measures are lacking, Johnson relies on the principle of hope: He invests in the development of CO2 storage technologies and hydrogen extraction and is confident that even flying will soon be possible without emissions. Great Britain is making “a big bet” on green technologies, he admitted in an interview.

Meanwhile, his COP representative Alok Sharma never tires of calling on the international community to act more ambitiously. Great Britain, for example, is demanding that other nations quickly say goodbye to coal. The World Climate Conference is not an opportunity for beautiful photos, Sharma said recently in Paris. It is the “last best opportunity to keep the 1.5 degree target within the realm of what is possible”.

dpa

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