Speaking at the UK Africa-Investment Summit today, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the government’s intention to stop funding for new coal projects overseas.
The Prime Minister said “not another penny of UK taxpayers money will be directly invested in digging up coal or burning it for electricity”, whilst further announcing that the government wants to lead the world in transitioning towards lower-carbon technologies.
Today’s announcement is the most meaningful of the new government’s pledges towards becoming carbon neutral by 2050, perhaps signalling that they are serious about meeting and even exceeding that target.
One of the major criticisms of Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in the general election campaign last December was their limited discussion of the climate crisis and a lack of serious proposals to deal with it – this will likely go some way to showing that there is a clear plan from number 10.
In the speech, Mr Johnson also cited a plethora of British companies and investments in renewable energy within Africa, suggesting that it is a ‘myth’ that you have to choose between renewable, cleaner energies and economic growth.
One of the major criticisms of the carbon-neutral approach within the UK is that few nations are setting such targets, with the UK accounting for only a small portion of global emissions.
The government’s move suggests that they will be working towards renewable energy and improving the environmental impact of energy production throughout the continent of Africa.
