UN criticises UK and Germany for betraying Paris climate deal

The United Nations has accused the United Kingdom and Germany of backtracking on the spirit of the Paris climate deal by financing the fossil fuel industry through subsidies.

UN special envoy on climate change and El-Niño, Mary Robinson, said that she had to speak out after Germany promised compensation for coal power and the UK provided tax breaks for oil and gas.

Robinson, who was the former president of Ireland, said that the British government introduced new tax breaks for oil and gas in 2015, and that this will cost the UK taxpayer billions between 2015 and 2020, while at the same time cutting support for renewables and for energy efficiency.

Governments, in Paris last year, had not only pledged to phase out fossil fuels in the long term, but to make flows of finance consistent with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The criticism comes as Theresa May’s government has come under fire at home and abroad for its leadership on climate change after it abolished the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The leader of the Green party, Natalie Bennett, said that the indictment of the UK’s energy policy comes just days after the new Prime Minister scrapped the Department of Energy and Climate Change and appointed an Environment Secretary who has consistently voted against measures to tackle climate change.

Robinson said that while Germany had made some positive steps such as aiding developing countries on climate change, it was sending mixed messages.

“Germany says it’s on track to end coal subsidies by 2018 but the German government is also introducing new mechanisms that provide payment to power companies for their ability to provide a constant supply of electricity, even if they are polluting forms, such as diesel and coal,” she said.

She however called on Germany to make a real commitment to get out of coal.

Robinson’s intervention comes as a group of international statesmen and women, including her, Kofi Annan and Desmond Tutu, known as the Elders, released a statement saying they had “major concerns” about action by leaders since the Paris agreement last December.

The Elders group said that some Presidents and Prime Ministers across the world are making investment decisions that run contrary the Paris deal.

 “Some countries are even increasing subsidies to fossil fuel production. This is simply not good enough. While all countries need to act, the industrialized and wealthy countries must lead by example,” they warned.

Robinson said she been to Ethiopia recently and seen the way man-made climate change was aggravating natural climate phenomenon such as El-Niño, which brings drought to some parts of the world, and flooding to others. “I saw so many malnourished children, and it’s not tolerable.”

NAHIMAT