London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The UK government will find a shared approach with Trump on climate change issues and net zero, the Energy Security Minister of the UK has said.
In remarks that could open the door to future dialogue, the UK’s energy security and net zero secretaries, Ed Miliband, proposed that the US president-elect, despite his past rhetoric calling climate change a “hoax”, might be persuaded by the economic benefits of moving towards green power.
Mr Miliband stated on BBC Breakfast, “It’s our job to work with the duly-elected US president. He has his own views”.
He added “I think what’s interesting about this – and you will see what decisions the new administration makes – is that the economics now point in the direction of clean energy.
“If you think about lots of the decisions that companies and countries are making, they recognise this is the single biggest job creator of our era, and so people want to be ahead in that race”.
He insisted, “So, we will seek to find common ground with Donald Trump, he will make his own decisions about what he wants to do. I obviously want him to stay in the Paris Climate Agreement, but that’s his decision.”
In 2016, Ed Miliband made comments on the president-elect as “racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper. When asked about his past remarks, he stated, “Look, I’ve said things in the past. My job now as a government minister is to work with the new US administration.
He added “I genuinely don’t think that Donald Trump is reading my tweets, I don’t have such a high opinion of myself”.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in Baku to attend the Cop29 climate change summit on Tuesday where he will also set out the UK’s new emission goal.
The government plans to cut emissions by 81% reduction by the year 2035 based on the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) recommendations compared to 1990 levels.
While talking to reporters, the PM said that he would not be “telling people how to live their lives” as this initiative is an important element of the government strategy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
One reporter asked Starmer whether he was ready to ask more people to alter their heating system, reduce air costs, and eat less meat to achieve the target, he responded, “I’ll set out our goal later on today, but look, it will be ambitious, and that’s measured not by telling people what to do”.
He further said this new emission goal is “difficult” but “achievable” and added, “But it’s not about telling people how to live their lives. I’m not interested in that. I am interested in making sure that their energy bills are stable, that we’ve got energy independence, and that we also, along the way, pick up the next generation of jobs”.