The UK Prime Minister is launching an international plan to deliver clean and affordable technology everywhere by 2030 at COP26 today.

Over 40 world leaders have backed and signed up to the new Breakthrough Agenda, including the US, India, EU, China, developing economies and some of the countries most vulnerable to climate change – representing more than 70% of the world’s economy and every region.

Modelled on the UK’s landmark Net Zero Strategy, the Breakthrough Agenda will see countries and businesses coordinate and strengthen their climate action each year to dramatically scale and speed up the development and deployment of clean technologies and drive down costs this decade.

The aim is to make clean technologies the most affordable, accessible and attractive choice for all globally in each of the most polluting sectors by 2030, particularly supporting the developing world to access the innovation and tools needed to transition to net zero.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is setting out the first five goals, the Glasgow Breakthroughs, collectively covering more than 50% of global emissions:

• Power: Clean power is the most affordable and reliable option for all countries to meet their power needs efficiently by 2030.
• Road Transport: Zero emission vehicles are the new normal and accessible, affordable, and sustainable in all regions by 2030.
• Steel: Near-zero emission steel is the preferred choice in global markets, with efficient use and near-zero emission steel production established and growing in every region by 2030.
• Hydrogen: Affordable renewable and low carbon hydrogen is globally available by 2030.
• Agriculture: Climate-resilient, sustainable agriculture is the most attractive and widely adopted option for farmers everywhere by 2030.

The plan will see countries and businesses work closely through a range of leading international initiatives to accelerate innovation and scale up green industries – this includes, for example, stimulating green investment through strong signals to industry about the future economy, aligning policies and standards, joining up R&D efforts, coordinating public investments and mobilising private finance particularly for developing nations.

Delivering the first five breakthroughs could create 20 million new jobs globally and add over $16 trillion across both emerging and advanced economies.

This comes as the PM hosts world leaders on the second day of the COP26 World Leaders Summit at a session on clean innovation and technology.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

By making clean technology the most affordable, accessible and attractive choice, the default go-to in what are currently the most polluting sectors, we can cut emissions right around the world.

The Glasgow Breakthroughs will turbocharge this forward, so that by 2030 clean technologies can be enjoyed everywhere, not only reducing emissions but also creating more jobs and greater prosperity.

The Glasgow Breakthroughs will drive forward global progress to halving emissions by 2030, which is crucial to keeping the limit to temperatures rises to 1.5C within reach, and will support the UK Presidency’s key aims to secure global action on phasing out coal and accelerating the transition to electric vehicles.

Leaders will also commit to discuss global progress every year in each sector starting in 2022 – supported by annual reports led by the International Energy Agency in collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency and UN High Level Champions – with annual discussions of Ministers across government convened around the Mission Innovation and Clean Energy Ministerials. This ‘Global Checkpoint Process’ will seek to sustain and continually strengthen international cooperation across the agenda throughout this decade.

At the event today, world leaders, CEOs and philanthropists are also expected to launch a series of new initiatives in support of the Glasgow Breakthroughs, including:

• The launch of the UK-India led Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid, endorsed by over 80 countries, to mobilise political will, finance and technical assistance needed to interconnect continents, countries and communities to the very best renewable sources of power globally to ensure no one is left without access to clean energy.
• The launch of the Global Energy Alliance for People & Planet with an initial $10 billion of funding from philanthropies and development banks to support energy access and the clean energy transition in the Global South, in strategic partnership with the UK-led Energy Transition Council.
• AIM4C, a new initiative led by US and UAE, with over 30 supporting countries, committed to accelerating innovation in sustainable agriculture, having already garnered $4 billion in increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation, including $1bn from the US.
• The Breakthrough Energy Catalyst programme aiming to raise $3bn in concessional capital to catalyse up to $30bn of investments in bringing down clean technology costs and creating markets for green products for green hydrogen, Direct Air Capture, long-duration energy storage and sustainable aviation fuel including £200m of UK support.
• The First Movers Coalition, a US-led buyers club of 25 major global companies making purchasing commitments to help commercialise key emerging clean technologies across sectors like steel, trucking, shipping, aviation, aluminium, concrete, chemicals, and direct air capture.

UN High-Level Climate Champions for COP25 and COP26, Gonzalo Munoz and Nigel Topping, who have been supporting the Breakthrough Agenda by driving ambitious action among the non-state actor community action and leading private sector initiatives, said:

With key private sector actors mobilising behind the breakthroughs necessary to achieve a net-zero world in time and world leaders signing up to the Breakthrough Agenda, governments across the world will help dramatically scale and speed up the race to zero emissions and deliver the promise of the Paris Agreement.

This is what the future of COP is all about – catalysing an innovative ambition loop between political leadership and the dynamism of the private sector to drive towards a resilient, prosperous zero carbon future.

Through the Net Zero strategy, the UK is leading the way in transforming these industries internationally and helping bringing down the costs of these technologies through billions of pounds of investment.

The UK’s and other countries’ investment and growth in green industries has proven costs can fall – for example by around 60% in offshore wind and around 90% in battery technology for electric vehicles in the decade to 2020. Replicating this around the world will be crucial to helping halve global emissions by 2030.

In support of this agenda, the Prime Minister yesterday launched the ‘Clean Green Initiative’ at COP26, a major funding package of £3 billion in investments and guarantees to support the rollout of sustainable infrastructure and revolutionary green technology in developing countries, helping to tackle climate change and boost economic growth.

The UK has also doubled its international climate finance of £11.6 billion over five years, with an extra £1bn in 2025 if the economy grows as forecast, supporting developing nations to access clean technology and build green infrastructure.

Hosted by the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation (CWD) Conference has been held every year since 1998 (except 2020), shortly after the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force, banning chemical weapons and requiring states to destroy any existing stockpiles.

With over 98% of the world’s declared chemical weapon stocks now destroyed, the Conference provides an opportunity for experts from all over the world to discuss their progress and co-operation in eliminating chemical weapons and addressing the remaining challenges, and to share experiences and lessons.

In her keynote speech to the Conference, Defence Minister Baroness Goldie commended the vital work of scientific and technical experts to make the world safe from chemical weapons. The Minister also acknowledged the continued threat from the use of chemical weapons, including in Syria, Russia and Salisbury, and the need for those responsible to be held to account.

Defence Minister Baroness Goldie said:

I am very pleased the Ministry of Defence and Dstl have hosted the Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation Conference, bringing together experts from Defence, industry and academia to strengthen the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The use of chemical weapons shows there is still much to do before we reach our goal. The UK is determined to uphold the international resolve against the use of chemical weapons. We remain firm in our determination to hold to account those who continue to use chemical weapons.

Welcoming to the Conference Ambassador Fernando Arias, Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Baroness Goldie added:

I congratulate and thank Director General Fernando Arias and the Technical Secretariat of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for their unwavering commitment and continuing determined and professional efforts to implement the Convention effectively and impartially. You bear unique responsibilities, on behalf of the international community, for achieving the objectives of the Chemical Weapons Convention and we acknowledge the critical importance of your role.

More than 70,000 tonnes of chemical weapon agents and millions of bombs, rocket warheads and artillery shells have been destroyed since 1998, but technical challenges remain. Chemical weapon attacks, including on Alexey Navalny in Russia in August last year, in Salisbury in the UK in 2018 and the numerous chemical weapon attacks by the Assad regime in Syria, make it clear the Convention requires global cooperation to affect lasting change.

OPCW Director General Fernando Arias said:

The complete elimination of the possibility of the use of chemical weapons is at the core of the Chemical Weapons Convention – there are no exceptions, it is absolute in its scope. Despite the achievement since the Convention’s entry into force 24 years ago, the use of chemical weapons in Iraq, Malaysia, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom demonstrate that these weapons remain an insidious threat.

Our world today is very different from the one in 1997, when the OPCW was founded. To meet challenges, it is imperative for us to keep adapting and evolving in an ever-changing global landscape. The OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology, or ChemTech Centre, which is now under construction close to The Hague, will be an integral part of our effort to better implement the Convention.

Preventing re-emergence of chemical weapons will require the commitment and efforts of all stakeholders: governments, industry and civil society. You can count on the Secretariat of the OPCW to continue working with all States Parties to uphold and reinforce the norm against the use of chemical weapons.

Dstl interim chief executive Doug Umbers said:

Recent events have again shown the importance of science and technology in countering chemical weapons. Dstl is proud to play a leading role in organising the conference on behalf of the international community.

Dstl continues to support the aim of having a Designated Laboratory such as our own in every continent, so that this high level of technical expertise is widely available to support the OPCW. The UK has provided voluntary funding to the OPCW to support this objective, working particularly with colleagues in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. It is therefore encouraging to see that Brazil has recently achieved the accolade. This brings us one step closer to achieving a future free from chemical weapons.

On Monday 18th October 2021, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade and the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Economy held their seventh Joint Economic Committee (JEC) in Dubai. The meeting took place in the ‘Inspiration Gallery’ of the United Kingdom’s Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020, which highlights leading British expertise in sectors including artificial intelligence and space.

The JEC was established in April 2009 and aims to strengthen and develop bilateral cooperation between both countries, with a focus on trade and investment ties, creating opportunities for our business communities, and stimulating an exchange of technical expertise. The United Arab Emirates is the United Kingdom’s largest trading partner in the Gulf and our 25th largest trading partner globally, with total trade in goods and services of £10.7bn in the year ending March 2021.

The JEC was co-chaired by the United Kingdom’s Minister for International Trade, Ranil Jayawardena MP, and the United Arab Emirates’ Minister of State for Foreign Trade, His Excellency Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi. There was a wide-ranging discussion on bilateral trade and investment, opportunities to increase market access, and options to boost collaboration in priority sectors such as healthcare, life sciences, and education. The Ministers celebrated successes since the last JEC, including the support offered to British food and drink exporters to continue exporting during Covid-19 and the recent accreditation of British education providers in the UAE. They received presentations from UK Export Finance and the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for International Trade on trade and investment opportunities in green sectors and artificial intelligence.

The JEC heard from the co-chairman of the United Arab Emirates-United Kingdom Business Council Lord Udny-Lister about its ongoing work of and its strategic vision for the future.

Discussion at the JEC covered the successful completion of the Joint Trade and Investment Review, which was recently undertaken between the United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This joint piece of work provided a strong overview of the trade and investment relationship between the GCC and United Kingdom, identified barriers to trade and investment, and drew clear recommendations for future cooperation that both parties could take forward. Both sides agreed on the importance of continued work in sectors such as education, food and drink, financial and professional services. More details on this work can be found here.

The JEC covered the plans for the United Kingdom-GCC Free Trade Agreement, with the United Kingdom launching her 14-week consultation on 7th October 2021. More information on the consultation can be found here.

During the JEC, the two sides celebrated the successful visit by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces to the United Kingdom in September 2021. Both delegations recognised the importance of the United Arab Emirates-United Kingdom Sovereign Investment Partnership (SIP) between the United Kingdom’s Office for Investment and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company. This partnership will drive a significant increase in investment across sectors such as technology, infrastructure, and energy transition over the next five years, as well as build on the existing programme of life sciences investment. Both sides also welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on artificial intelligence to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, investment, and standards to bring mutual benefit to both countries.

The meeting saw the British and Emirati governments agree to tackle numerous market access barriers and boost cooperation across a number of sectors. The next meeting of the JEC will be held in late 2022.