The commitments UK and international businesses make to reduce their carbon footprints will be “crucial” to the success of last Saturday’s COP21 summit, energy secretary Amber Rudd has said.
Speaking before the energy and climate change select committee this morning, Rudd said that it was “absolutely critical” that international governments worked alongside businesses to achieve the ambitious targets set for 2020 and beyond.
She welcomed the announcements a number of businesses had made during the summit, but called on more to commit to similar targets. At the summit a host of major multinationals signed up to making ‘science-based’ emissions reductions equivalent to reducing emissions by 467 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Rudd added that the agreement was a “symbiotic move with business” to tackle climate change and said that it would be important to “leverage” the private sector in the future.
But the secretary refused to shed light on details surrounding a purported cross-department climate change team that has been formed within the government on the back of news that the UK is set to miss heat and transport targets by 2030.
While Rudd confirmed its existence, she would not reveal the identities of other members – said to be secretaries of state at other departments – or discuss the frequency of their meetings. Rudd earlier this week said she intended to put together a plan to tackle transport problems with transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin and would reveal it next year.
