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<p>The UK has ratified the Paris Agreement. The UK is already playing its part in
delivering the Paris Agreement through our ambitious domestic climate framework. We
have shown our commitment to the UK’s Climate Change Act by setting the Fifth Carbon
Budget in law. This budget is set in line with the recommendation of the Committee
on Climate Change and has been widely welcomed by the business community for the certainty
it gives in our move to a low carbon economy. The creation of the new Department for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will enable a whole economy approach to delivering
our climate change ambitions.</p><p> </p><p>I attended COP22 in Marrakech this year.
The UK played a significant role in driving forward negotiations and discussions –
particularly on mobilising climate finance. At these negotiations, progress was made
on how to implement Paris Agreement, setting a clear deadline of 2018 for its finalisation.
The UK also announced participation in a number of initiatives, including: supporting
developing countries to implement their Paris commitments, tackling air pollution
and investing further in research and development. For the first time at a COP, the
UK had a Green is GREAT pavilion, showcasing British public and private sector strengths
in responding to the challenges of climate change, including innovative commercial
solutions and financial expertise.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is supporting vulnerable countries
to take action against climate change. The UK will provide at least £5.8bn from the
UK aid budget between 2016 and 2020 as climate finance which will continue to provide
strong support to help vulnerable developing countries adapt to climate change and
take up sustainable, low carbon, resilient and inclusive development. This includes
technical assistance and capacity building to help countries implement their national
plans under the Paris Agreement. UK climate finance to date has already directly supported
21 million people to cope with the effects of climate change, and improved access
to energy for 6.6 million people. The finance has also helped prevent 4.9 million
tonnes of CO2, this is roughly equivalent to emissions from 1 million vehicles driven
for one year.</p><p> </p><p>We have also recently seen two significant global climate
deals that – although separate from the UNFCCC process – will be important steps towards
meeting the Paris goals. The UK played a key role in securing a major deal to combat
aviation emissions, the first worldwide scheme to address emissions in any single
sector, and also in securing a historic deal to phase down the production and use
of hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) by 2047, which will avoid 0.5 degrees of global warming
by the end of this century. The UK is already phasing down the use of HFCs by 80%
by 2030 and now the rest of the world will be following our lead.</p>
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