Friends,

It is fantastic to speak to you from Hanoi as you meet in session for the first time since COP25 in Madrid, almost 18 months ago.

It is vital that we make this session count.

Over the past months I have met and spoken with many world leaders, ministers, civil society organisations, chief executives of businesses, and youth representatives.

And their message is clear – the world is watching us. It is watching our processes.

We must step up our global response to the climate crisis.

Demonstrating the same urgency as we are showing in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

This session represents a vital opportunity to make tangible progress within the UNFCCC process.

It really cannot be about dusting off position papers from COP25 and resuming where we left off. We must take this opportunity to move beyond positional statements.

And instead, we must work together, we must consolidate options and draft text that we can bring to COP26 for finalisation and adoption.

We must put in these really hard miles of work now so we arrive in Glasgow having done our homework, ready to reach agreement that keeps 1.5 degrees within reach.

Agreement that protects people and nature from the impacts of climate change. Agreement that mobilises finance, and agreement that encourages cooperation across borders and across society to deliver against the goals of the Paris Agreement.

And we must ensure that we leave no issue and no one behind.

I have utmost faith in all of you making full use of the coming weeks.

And in the expert leadership of SB Chairs Marianne Karlsen and Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, with whom the UK and Chile continue to work extremely closely.

And I would like to thank the SB Chairs, as well as my dear friend the Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, and her whole Secretariat team, for their efforts in organising this session.

Particularly, their great work in addressing the very valid concerns raised on virtual working.

And I would like to wish all of you the very best for this vital session.

I look forward to reading the outputs of your collective efforts.

Thank you.

Following the decision to begin the withdrawal of military forces from Afghanistan, the Prime Minister has agreed the Ministry of Defence, Home Office and MHCLG to rapidly accelerate applications through the policy. ARAP was first introduced to help vulnerable Afghans, who risked their lives supporting British troops, to relocate to the UK and start new lives.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

We owe a debt of gratitude to our interpreters and other locally employed staff who risked their lives working alongside UK forces in Afghanistan.

We have always made clear that nobody’s life should be put at risk because they supported the UK Government to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan.

As we withdraw our Armed Forces, it is only right we accelerate the relocation of those who may be at risk of reprisals.

The Home Secretary and I are going to do everything to make sure we recognise their services and bring them to safety. It is the right thing to do.

The ARAP scheme came into effect on 1 April 2021 and offers the relocation of current and former local staff in Afghanistan, including interpreters and their immediate families.

This new scheme acknowledges and reflects that the situation in Afghanistan has changed, and with it the potential risk to the local staff who have worked for the UK Government over the past twenty years.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

I’m proud to say that the UK is fulfilling its promise to those Afghan interpreters and other locally employed staff who have worked tirelessly alongside our Armed Forces.

It is our moral obligation to recognise the risks they have faced in the fight against terrorism and reward their efforts. I’m pleased that we are meeting this fully, by providing them and their families the opportunity to build a new life in this country.

A new intimidation scheme administered by a specialist team based in Kabul has been set up to administer the ARAP and support local staff who are threatened as a result of their work with the UK.

The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy was launched on 1 April 2021 and will accelerate the pace of relocations alongside the military withdrawal, including making more resources available to speed up the scheme.

Under the new policy, any current or former locally employed staff who are assessed to be under serious threat to life are offered priority relocation to the UK regardless of their employment status, rank or role, or length of time served.

The MOD will work with a range of Government partners, including the Home Office and MHCLG, to successfully relocate those who meet the eligibility requirements and support them to integrate and build a new life in the UK.

By accelerating the ARAP for those staff still in Afghanistan, the Government is meeting its moral obligation to ensure their continued safety.

The Government has already supported the relocation of more than 1,360 former Afghan staff and their families, enabling them to create new lives in the UK.

A new report published today (Tuesday 1 June) has set out how the UK can support the rapid and safe introduction of fusion energy as the technology develops.

Produced by the Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC), an independent expert committee which identifies regulation required to foster technical innovation, the report makes recommendations on how fusion energy should be regulated in light of its inherently lower risk than nuclear alternatives.

Fusion is the process that powers the sun. A fusion power plant would combine hydrogen atoms to generate energy without giving off the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. The UK hopes to deliver the world’s first prototype fusion power plant, STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), by 2040.

The RHC report states that innovation-friendly regulation will allow the technology to be rolled out quickly and safely, boosting the confidence of both the public and investors.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said:

Fusion energy has enormous potential, offering an inexhaustible source of zero-carbon energy and helping us to cement the UK’s position as a science superpower.

Today’s report helps put the foundations in place to deliver the world’s first prototype fusion plant by 2040 and ensures we can capitalise on the exciting innovation taking place right here in the UK.

Focusing on the STEP programme announced in October 2019, the report recommends the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency lead on developing current regulations and putting the best framework in place for the technology to flourish.

Due to the lower risk associated with fusion that with nuclear fission, the report recommends that the current regulatory approach, led by HSE and the Environment Agency, is the most appropriate framework and that the more stringent regulations applied to nuclear energy would be disproportionate.

To ensure the target of delivering a fusion plant by 2040 is met, the report also recommends the government consults with business and the public on its plans for fusion energy in summer 2021 and begins a public awareness programme to increase understanding of the topic. Additionally, it advises that a joint guidance document is produced by EA, HSE and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to provide further clarity and ensure confidence in the technology.

Following the publication of the report, the government has today confirmed that it will launch a consultation on fusion energy regulation later this year, allowing industry and the public to have their say. The government has published an interim response to the RHC report and will respond to the report in full in early 2022 after its consultation.