HERE'S WHAT KWARTENG SAID AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM 2020

At WEF 2020 discussing Accelerating the Industry Transition :

COVID-19, despite its ravages, has provided us an opportunity to contemplate the world after the pandemic as we face what the World Economic Forum’s Klaus Schwab has termed the Great Reset. There is a huge opportunity for equitable growth, a cleaner world, and the transition to the new economy and society that we all want to see.

Kwasi Kwarteng is here. He says we need a fourfold faster effort to close the gap to 1.5C. He says the UK’s aim is to increase ambition towards a climate-resilient, zero carbon economy, which must happen alongside the COVID-19 recovery.

For its COP26 presidency, the UK has identified five key sectors to address: nature-based solutions, adaptation and resilience, finance, clean transport and clean energy, which includes energy, one of the most significant consumers.

Zero-emission production of key materials such as steel and chemicals still do not exist at scale. To decarbonise industrial sectors, we need progress in a range of areas, he says. We need green hydrogen.

As a former banker, he knows how important the role of private finance can be.

“Sustained international cooperation is exactly what we need to address the scale of the challenge. It is very important that we learn from each other’s experiences, ideas and technological developments.”

“Global industries require a global response,” he says. This might include agreeing common standards for low-carbon products. We need to start creating demand to stimulate investment in low-carbon.

Net-zero steel might add 1% to the price of a car – but we need to be prepared for this. “But by advancing together, we can reduce the cost of the transition and enable it to happen even faster.”

The UK has been a proud member of Mission Innovation since it was launched at COP21. Since then, “improvements in green technologies are growing rapidly, consistently beating expectations”. The cost of windfarms and lithium batteries has fallen.

But as we recover from COVID-19, we need to move further and faster through targeted public and private investments in R&D. The UK is calling for an ambitious second phase of Mission Innovation, to accelerate technological development and drive down costs, focusing on key areas such as clean hydrogen and shipping.

Citizens and economies are currently facing the two greatest challenges of our time: COVID-19 and climate change. The choices we make today will free us or lock us in to a high emissions world, making us more vulnerable. Proper investments will see us build greener industries and address the related challenges in public health and biodiversity.

Today’s Industry Transition Day will provide an important drumbeat for action as we look ahead to COP26 in the autumn.