Your Excellencies, Ladies, Gentlemen, Friends.

Before a baby born today has even finished primary education, the future will be set.

We all know that the next decade will be make, or break, for planet earth.

And the warning lights are flashing bright red.

And that is why the decisions world leaders are taking today, and, indeed, on the road to COP26, are going to be absolutely critical.

So I want to thank President Biden for bringing us together, and for the US’s own ambitious new nationally determined contribution.

And, indeed, I am grateful to everyone who has made announcements.

And moved us closer to our clean, green future. To creating jobs and prosperity without harming the planet.

And with today’s announcements from the US, Canada and Japan, every G7 country now has an NDC that puts them on a path to net zero by 2050.

This is a significant step towards keeping 1.5 degrees within reach, from a group of countries who have a responsibility to lead.

As you’ve heard, Net zero commitments now cover 70 percent of the global economy.

And this is real progress. But we have much further to go.

Because, as I said at the Climate Ambition Summit in December, the key question is:

Have we collectively as a world community done enough to put the world on track to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

To protecting ourselves from climate change.

And making the Paris Agreement a reality.

Friends, the answer to that question is still: no, not yet.

Between now and COP26 there will be more opportunities for countries to raise their ambition. And so we must.

Because if we are serious about 1.5 degrees, we must be serious about NDCs. And we must be serious about acting now to reduce emissions. And we must be serious about supporting developing countries.

The next IPCC report will show us again the urgency of our situation.

And the world is looking expectantly to its leaders to respond.

And we must prove that we are up to the challenge. And we must make COP26 the turning point where we get on track to make the goals of the Paris Agreement a reality.

And that means, firstly, putting the world on a path to net zero through long term targets and aligned NDCs.

And taking immediate action to meet those targets – by, for example, phasing out coal.

So, I welcome South Korea’s commitment to end overseas coal financing.

Second, we must boost adaptation.

Third, we need finance, as we have heard about in this section. And we must all see ourselves as champions of developing countries. Whose calls for action we have heard loud and clear today.

Climate change, we all know, does not respect borders. And tackling it is absolutely a global effort.

So, developed countries must mobilise the promised $100billion a year.

And I very much welcome the US return to the fold following today’s initial climate finance commitment. And we will continue to work with all donors to increase ambition towards our collective goal.

Finally, we must work together to deliver a low carbon world, and make the negotiations in Glasgow a success.

Friends, today, we have made progress on our goals.

But we need a further step change.

We need world leaders to mount a global response that matches the scale and the urgency of the crisis we face.

This is the defining issue of our political age.

The one against which future generations will judge us above all others.

But I do believe we can and we must rise to the occasion.

Julia Mulligan is an experienced senior leader in the policing and fire sectors. For nearly nine years, she has been the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for North Yorkshire, during a period of substantial change and challenge. She will stand down from her role as PFCC on 13 May.

Julia has held a number of national roles, including six years as a Director of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), the national body for Police and Crime Commissioners. Her national portfolios included Transparency and Integrity, and joint lead for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls, as well as co-chairing the APCC’s Race Disparity Working Group.

In May 2020, Julia was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, which works to protect vulnerable and exploited workers. She is also a member of Dame Sara Thornton’s Advisory Panel which provides support and advice to the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, and a member of the national Fire Standards Board. Julia has a keen interest in supporting victims and vulnerable people, which is reflected in her role as Chair of Independent Domestic Abuse Services (IDAS), one of the largest specialist domestic abuse charities in the North of England.

Julia Mulligan said:

I’d like to thank the Home Secretary for placing her confidence in me. Having served nearly nine years as a Police and Crime Commissioner, taking on the role of independent Chair represents a change in direction, but one in which I can continue to use my skills and experience to support policing.

The PABEW considers important matters, and I’d like to extend my thanks to out-going Chair, Elizabeth France for her excellent work, as well as to the secretariat for their expertise and support. Looking ahead, we have a lot of work to do, which will need very careful consideration as the impact will be lasting. Getting things right for both the police workforce and public is important, as it will help put policing in the best possible position to continue its critical work of cutting crime and protecting the public.

The role of the PABEW is to advise the Home Secretary about matters such as recruitment, diversity and collaboration between forces affecting the police in England and Wales. The PABEW was established as a non-departmental public body under section 46 of the Police Act 1964, now section 63 of the Police Act 1996. The Chair of the Board oversees several statutory functions including:

• advising the Home Secretary on general questions affecting the police in England and Wales
• considering draft regulations on matters other than hours of duty, leave, pay and allowance such as the issue, use and return of police clothing, personal equipment and accoutrements
• considering draft regulations related to pensions under section 1 of the Police Pensions Act 1976
• establishing the Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) for the Police Pension Schemes, in accordance with s7 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013

It may also consider any matter relating to conditions of service and any other matter affecting the police which has been referred to it by the Secretary of State.

Julia has been appointed for 3 years from 16 April 2021.

Mr Chair,

The UK is deeply concerned by reports of Mr Alexey Navalny’s deteriorating health, and repeat our call for his immediate and unconditional release in line with the interim measure indicated by the European Court of Human Rights, under Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court, on 16 February this year. This determined that the measures put in place by the Russian authorities to protect Mr Navalny could not provide sufficient safeguards for his life and health. Unfortunately, this concern has already proved well-founded, within an alarmingly short space of time.

Mr Navalny has now been transferred to a prison hospital, following reports from his medical team last weekend that he is in a critical condition, and could suffer kidney failure or cardiac arrest at any moment.

Prison doctors previously diagnosed Mr Navalny with a double hernia in his spine, and his health continues to worsen, with possible complications due to the after-effects of his poisoning.

Mr Navalny declared a hunger strike on 31 March after Russian authorities refused to give him adequate medical treatment for pains in his back and leg, despite a legal obligation to provide this care. It is vitally important that the Russian Federation grants Mr Navalny access to medical professionals that he trusts without delay.

We also remind Russia of our previous statements at the Permanent Council raising our concerns about the politically motivated detention of Mr Navalny, and that his treatment and continued detention is another example of the shrinking democratic space in Russia and the deterioration in human rights.

As an OSCE participating State, Russia has freely signed up to a series of commitments in the OSCE’s human dimension which they must uphold. That includes a commitment to ensure law enforcement officials take immediate action to secure medical attention whenever required; the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention; and prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as well as upholding the rule of law.

We call – again – upon the Russian authorities to take all measures necessary to fulfil their obligations under the OSCE’s human dimension and other international human rights commitments, to provide Mr Navalny with adequate medical care, and to release him from his politically motivated imprisonment as a matter of urgency.

Mr Chair,

I am delivering this statement on behalf of both the UK and Canada.

The actions taken by the Russian authorities in recent months are a further demonstration of the erosion of independent media and critical voices in Russia. We remain concerned by the brief detention and interrogation of the journalist Roman Anin, who has led numerous investigations into organized crime and corruption in Russia. Mr Anin’s apartment and offices were raided by the FSB, allegedly in retaliation for his investigations into the Kremlin elite. This is yet another example of Russia’s constriction of independent media.

Furthermore, the Chechen authorities’ continued intimidation and verbal attacks against the journalist Elena Milashina and the newspaper Novaya Gazeta are unacceptable. We previously raised the attack on Ms Milashina last February in this forum. We are dismayed that these attacks have continued.

Ms Milashina’s article on extrajudicial killings, featuring the testimony of a former Chechen patrol officer, is the latest of credible reports detailing the continuing violations of human rights in Chechnya. We recall the 2018 Moscow Mechanism report, which confirmed concerns over very serious human rights violations in the Chechen Republic, and addressed the lack of effective remedies and the problem of impunity.

We note that in Milan in 2018, OSCE participating States agreed to “take effective measures to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists… including by ensuring that law enforcement agencies carry out swift, effective and impartial investigations into acts of violence and threats against journalists”.

In addition, we are concerned by the detention of Russian citizens exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, which are enshrined in the Russian constitution. Again the Russian government fails to respect and comply with its international commitments on human rights in the OSCE and the Council of Europe. Russia should release citizens detained during peaceful demonstrations. We are also concerned that Russia continues to target independent media outlets and journalists who are covering these protests.

We urge the authorities in the Russian Federation to demonstrate their commitment to the OSCE human rights principles that they freely signed up to, including the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Russia must investigate all human rights violations committed against journalists and independent media outlets, and bring those responsible to justice.

I’d like to begin by thanking President Biden very much for bringing us together today in the way that he has and for setting out the problem in the eloquent way that he did at the beginning, and of course for returning the United States to the front rank of the fight against climate change.

I’m really thrilled by the game-changing announcement that Joe Biden has just made. And I’m proud that the UK is doing the same.

We were first country to pass legislation for net zero. We have the biggest offshore wind capacity of any country in the world, the Saudi Arabia of wind as I never tire of saying. We’re halfway to net zero.

We have carbon emissions lower than at any point since the 19th century, we’re ending support for fossil fuels overseas and doubling our international climate finance.

We’re actually speeding up because we see the obligations for developed countries to do more, we’re legislating to deliver 78% of the reductions needed to reach that goal by 2035.

As host of COP26, we want to see similar ambitions around the world and we’re working with everybody, from the smallest nations to the biggest emitters to secure commitments that will keep change to within 1.5 degrees.

And I think we can do it. And to do it we need the scientists and all of our countries to work together to produce the technological solutions that humanity is going to need. Whether it’s carbon capture and storage or solving the problems of cheap hydrogen delivery or getting to jet zero flying, getting to net zero flying, making sure that we can roll out EVs properly, making sure that our homes stop emitting such prodigious quantities of CO2, moving to sustainable domestic living.

We can do this together across the world. It’s going to mean the richest nations coming together and exceeding the $100 billion commitment that they already made in 2009 and I stress how important that is.

Plus, I think what President Xi had to say about the harmony with nature was absolutely vital. If we’re going to tackle climate change sustainably, we have to deal with the disaster of habitat loss and species loss across our planet and we want to see even more examples of government and private industry working hand in hand as with the newly launched LEAF Coalition to reduce deforestation and the multi-trillion dollar Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.

To do these things we’ve got to be constantly original and optimistic about new technology and new solutions whether that’s crops that are super-resistant to drought or more accurate weather forecasts like those we hope to see from the UK’s new Met Office 1.2bn supercomputer that we’re investing in.

I’m not saying any of this is going to be easy. There is obviously going to be a political challenge. It’s important to go back to the original words of President Biden, it’s vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive politically correct green act of ‘bunny hugging’ or however you want to put it. Nothing wrong with ‘bunny hugging’ but you know what I’m driving at.

This is about growth and jobs and the President was absolutely right to stress that. I want to leave you with the thought that we can build back better from this pandemic by building back greener.

Don’t forget that the UK has been able to cut our own CO2 emissions by about 42% on 1990 levels and we’ve seen our economy grow by 73%, you can do both at once. Cake have eat is my message to you.

Let’s work together on this. Let’s go to Kunming in October and Glasgow in November armed with ambitious targets and the plans required to reach them.

And let’s use this extraordinary moment and the incredible technology that we’re working on to make this decade the moment of decisive change in the fight against climate change and let’s do it together.