UK climate minister Katie White says COP31 must respond to what she described as “really scary” climate science. In an interview with Carbon Brief ahead of the talks in Antalya, Turkey, she said recent heat and wildfires had shown that climate change was already affecting everyday life in the UK.
White said the UK would push for the latest findings, including reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to form the basis of discussions. She said the summit should make progress on both scientific evidence and practical action, even though it is not a global stocktake year.
Electrification is expected to be a key part of the COP31 action agenda, White said, citing the shift towards electric homes and transport. Other UK priorities include reducing methane emissions and deforestation. She also voiced support for the international agenda to transition away from fossil fuels.
Asked about the UK’s climate policies, White defended the approval of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, saying the decision was consistent with the country’s carbon budgets. She said the government would continue monitoring those budgets and supporting a transition away from fossil fuels.
White also said the Middle East crisis had heightened concern about energy prices and contributed to increased interest in solar panels, electric vehicles and heat pumps in the UK. She described the uptake of these technologies as the biggest the country had seen, while noting that the government was considering how it could encourage and accelerate the shift.
Sources: Carbon Brief.