Labour's Ed Miliband has warned Donald Trump that the world's transition to Net Zero is 'unstoppable' – despite the US president withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement.
Within hours of returning to the White House yesterday, Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the international treaty.
The agreement, which came into effect in 2016, commits almost all countries to limiting the increase in global average temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
But after promising to carry out a 'baby drill' during his victorious election campaign, Trump wants to boost US oil and gas production and reverse climate regulations.
It puts the US president at odds with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who has pledged to decarbonise Britain's electricity grid by 2030 as part of Labour's green agenda.
Mr Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, was this afternoon asked about the government's drive to make Britain a 'climate leader' among global nations.
The minister was criticized for saying that major polluters – such as China, India and the US – seemed 'slightly less interested in climate leadership' than Britain.
Within hours of returning as US president, Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing America from the Paris climate treaty
But Labour's Ed Miliband, appearing before a House of Lords committee, insisted the world's transition to Net Zero was 'unstoppable'.
Appearing before the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee, Mr Miliband replied: 'This is interesting because… I've been working on this for a long time.
“I would say one of the things that has changed since I last worked in this job [between 2008 and 2010] is that the transition can now no longer be stopped.
“If you think about this reality, 90 percent of the world is now under Net Zero targets.”
Mr Miliband admitted that last year's COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan – which he described as “198-dimensional chess” – was “very difficult” but said there was “the will to reach an agreement” in Baku.
“Now I try not to look at this through rose-colored glasses because you can hold two truths in your mind at the same time,” he added.
'One that the transition is unstoppable and secondly that it is not happening nearly fast enough. I think both truths are correct. The world is in motion.
'If you look at what China, for example, has done in the past year in the field of installing sustainable energy.
'I will soon go to India, which is also working on sustainable energy. That's not to say it's all one-way when it comes to China, India and so on.
'But the world is moving and I think part of the role of the UK leadership here is to do the right thing at home because that's the right thing for energy security.
'But we are only one percent of the emissions and so the power of example and working with others really matters.'
Mr Miliband told the committee not to underestimate “the impact of British leadership” on climate issues, adding: “It's really difficult – I think the transition is unstoppable, we have to make sure it is faster.'
Mr Tump also withdrew the US from the Paris climate accord during his first term in the White House in 2017, before his action was reversed by Joe Biden in 2021.
