UK and US should build 'special relationship' to tackle climate change

Government's net-zero tsar also made a pitch for US businesses to invest in the UK’s green industries

Chris Skidmore conducted a review into how the UK could reach net zero by 2050. PA

Chris Skidmore, the government’s net-zero tsar, on Tuesday called on the UK and US to forge a new “green special relationship” to tackle climate change.

The two nations have a joint responsibility to find solutions to the climate crisis, the Conservative MP said in a speech in Washington at the Atlantic Council think tank.

Mr Skidmore conducted a review into how the UK could reach net zero by 2050 and said: “As far as I am concerned, carbon dioxide knows no borders.

“Net zero is not just a shared responsibility, but a shared opportunity also, to build out international supply chains and partnerships that can lower the cost of the transition for both our nations, and deliver a green jobs revolution on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We cannot afford, both for our economies and our shared environment, to seek to replicate each other’s successes or to repeat each other’s failures.

“Our endeavours to find the fastest and most effective solutions to tackling the climate crisis must be shared.”

He also rejected criticism of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which provides $370 billion (£297 billion) in green subsidies but has been accused of being protectionist.

Mr Skidmore said the act offered a “catalytic opportunity globally” and added that there was not enough capacity available for the US to work without international partners.

Climate change around the world — in pictures

Engineers carry solar panels on to the roof of a property in Barcelona in September 2022. Spain and other Mediterranean countries have generated record amounts of power from wind and solar farms. Bloomberg

Smoke rises from brick factory stacks in Nahrawan, Baghdad. Tackling emissions from heavy industry is crucial to tackling global warming. Reuters

A boy stands near a flock of sheep as a sandstorm approaches in the Syrian countryside of Tabqa. Syria is among the countries most vulnerable and poorly prepared for climate change, which is expected to worsen. AFP

Mountains of smouldering rubbish at the Bhalswa landfill in New Delhi, India. Reuters

Greenpeace activists take part in a climate change protest in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in May. AP

A man carries water bottles across the heavily polluted Negro River in Manaus, Brazil. About 35 tonnes of rubbish are removed daily from the river. AP

A helicopter drops water on a brush fire in California. Bloomberg

UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa speaks on the opening day of the Bonn climate change conference in Germany. Getty

Activists take part in a demonstration to raise awareness of global warming, during an event to mark World Environment Day in Kolkata. AFP

A helicopter drops water on a bushfire near a residential district in Athens. The fire forced residents to flee. AFP

A gauge measures water levels in the Rio Nambe river, in New Mexico. Ninety per cent of the state is experiencing extreme drought. Getty

Afghan refugees search for recyclable material from heaps of rubbish in Karachi, Pakistan. AP

A climate activist ties herself to the net during the semi-final tennis match between Croatia's Marin Cilic and Norway's Casper Ruud at the French Open in Roland Garros in Paris. AP

A dance group performs at a climate summit in Stockholm, Sweden. Getty

US climate envoy John Kerry talks to a delegate at the Stockholm 50 climate summit. Getty

A boat is stranded during low tide at the Chebayesh marsh in Dhi Qar province, Iraq. Reuters

A woman crosses a polluted river in Dhaka, Bangladesh. EPA

A man walks past an abandoned boat in the bed of a drought-affected reservoir on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen. EPA

“For the UK, we should be seeking to place that spirit of shared partnership at the front of our reception to the IRA, and to establish where we can work together, to build on our comparative advantages, and to recognise that for the US and the UK, we can build the climate industries of the future together,” he said.

“There is no better place to start forging this new green special relationship.”

He also warned that failing to co-operate could mean the energy transition was “monopolised by those who do not share our values”.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has promised to set out the UK’s response to the act in the autumn, although he has ruled out going “toe to toe with our friends and allies in some distortive global subsidy race”.

The Labour Party has called for a British version of the act, while both Mr Skidmore and the former Cop26 president, Sir Alok Sharma, have urged the government to accelerate its response to US policies.

In his speech on Tuesday, Mr Skidmore also made a pitch for US businesses to invest in the UK’s green industries, saying the cross-party consensus on reaching net zero ensured stability.