NEW YORK, USA – The following is a statement by David Lammy, UK deputy prime minister, at the UN Secretary-General’s UN Climate Summit 2025.
The statement reads:
“ Excellencies – thank you for convening us at this critical time, when climate change is demonstrably not a distant threat, or tomorrow’s problem. It is an emergency – one that we must address with urgency. The extreme heat, floods, wildfires and droughts throughout the world, are disrupting lives, livelihoods and economies everywhere.
But let’s be honest, the people paying the price, the hardest and deepest of prices, are those who contributed the least to this crisis. The most vulnerable in the most volatile places.
We must address this, and the United Kingdom is absolutely dedicated to playing its part.
At COP29 last November, our prime minister announced the UK’s commitment. Our Nationally Determined Contribution to fighting climate change under the Paris Agreement. It will cut our greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81 percent by 2035, compared to 1990 levels.
It is economy-wide, covering every single sector. Aligned with the goal of keeping global warming at 1.5 percent.
Nationally Determined Contributions matter because they send a signal to our citizens, to investors, and to the world that we are ambitious and determined to deliver on climate change. And let me be clear: ambition is not a drag on growth as some would suggest– it drives growth.
The UK is the first major economy to halve its emissions, while also growing its economy by over 80 percent. Last year our green economy grew three times faster than the economy as a whole. This is the growth story of the coming decade. And ambitious NDCs are the foundation for attracting the investment that makes it possible. But none of us can succeed alone.
Multilateralism is the key to achieving our ambitions. Before Paris, we were on track for 4°C of warming by the end of this century. Now, if we each deliver on our 2030 NDC commitments, we are on track for 2.6°C. If we also all fulfil our Net Zero commitments, it could be 1.9°C.
Progress is real, but it is not enough. Our current pledges must be the floor, not the ceiling. We must stretch further or we risk impact on our climate that will cost all of us far more in the long term. That is why the UK will continue to support developing countries, including through the NDC Partnership. And that is why we must come together at COP30.
We commend Brazil’s clear focus on making multilateralism work at COP30 in Belém. COP30 must be a turning point—one that delivers credible pathways to course-correct and accelerate action. To show the world that we will act – together and with urgency – to keep 1.5 degrees in reach.
“Not just for our own sakes, but for those communities of people who contributed so little to the problem and suffer so much from its effects.”
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