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U.K. Must Take Lead on Climate Change, Gove Says

U.K. Must Take Lead on Climate and Pay Back Nature, Gove Says

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. has a “moral responsibility” to take the lead on slashing greenhouse emissions after being at the forefront of the industrial revolution centuries ago, Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said.

As one of the first countries to build factories and lay the foundations for some of the world’s most polluting industries, Britain should now “lead the green revolution,” Gove said at a conference kicking off the countdown for the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow in November this year.

“We believe that the U.K. has a moral responsibility to lead here -- as the first country in the world to industrialize,” Gove said at the event. The nation must work toward decarbonizing as part of acknowledging “our responsibility, our debt to the planet, and our debt to others.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has committed to lead the fight on climate change and last year his Conservative party pledged to make the nation carbon neutral by 2050. The nation will exit power generation from coal by the middle of this decade.

U.K. Must Take Lead on Climate Change, Gove Says

Gove also highlighted the role of the U.K.’s financial industry in slowing climate change. He said that London as one of the world’s principal financial centers must also play a part in moving investment away from “the extractive economics of the past.”

Gove’s speech fueled speculation that he is one of the front-runners to take over as president of the UN climate meeting after the Cabinet Office announced last month that former energy minister Claire O’Neill would no longer hold the position. She later accused Johnson’s government of being “miles off track” on its commitment to curb global warming.

“I’m very happy with the job that I have and I think that there are many, many many talented people who could do the job of COP President better than I ever could,” Gove said.

He said that the government will announce its decision on O’Neill’s replacement in the coming days.

Sturgeon’s View

Speaking later at the same event, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was asked if she was worried about how Johnson’s government had handled preparations for the talks. She said O’Neill’s sacking had raised concerns, but that those could be put to rest with the appointment of a new COP president.

“I have no interest in being critical of the U.K. government’s handling of this,” she said. “I desperately want COP to be a success and I feel a responsibility for helping to make it a success.”

Asked about reports of differences between the U.K. and Scottish governments over organizing the conference, she replied: “I don’t consider that we are engaged in squabbles,” before adding “there are plenty of issues that Boris Johnson and I can have squabbles about. This really, really should not be one of them.”

Gove also appeared to take a swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian premier Jair Bolsonaro when speaking on the need for political leaders to protect the environment.

“I shan’t mention any politicians by name in a critical fashion -- however, it’s important in the United States and in Brazil that we recognize that there will be people at the state level and at the city level who can play a vital role in driving change.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Olivia Konotey-Ahulu in London at okonoteyahul@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Lars Paulsson, Reed Landberg

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