UK pledges punchy new climate goal – but these parts of the puzzle are missing
The UK has unveiled a punchy new climate goal to slash its emissions by 81% by 2035.
The government said it is on a mission to “tackle the climate crisis in a way that makes the British people better off”, by investing in clean, home-grown power and cutting ties with volatile fossil fuel markets.
Announcing the pledge at the COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, the prime minister Keir Starmer said: “The race is on for the clean energy jobs of the future, the economy of tomorrow.
The target forms part of the UK’s new climate plan, and Sir Keir urged other countries at the summit to “come forward with ambitious targets of their own.”
So far the UK has cut emissions by 50% compared with levels in 1990.
The pledge has gone down well at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, where rich, polluting countries like the UK are expected to lead by example among the 200 countries gathered for the talks.
Kenya’s foreign secretary called the target “quite ambitious”.
The world needs “concrete examples of one of the key economies making positive strides towards dealing with climate change”, Musalia Mudavadi told Sky News.
But he warned countries would be watching to ensure “that nobody is back-pedalling”.
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The UK’s pledge matches what its climate advisers say is needed to tackle climate change at home and meet a promise it made under the landmark Paris Agreement, struck at COP21 in 2015.
But the advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), warned the government is missing plans it needs to get to that target.
“The good news is [the 81% target] is achievable,” said the CCC’s new chief Emma Pinchbeck.
“The less good news for government is they are behind on their [existing] targets.”
That’s not because “we don’t have the technologies available, or that the economics don’t work”, she said.
“The issue is that we haven’t had a delivery plan from the government that can get us there.”
Starmer’s promise a small ray of sunshine
Sir Keir Starmer’s arrival at COP29 with a promise to drastically cut the UK’s carbon emissions will be a small ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy start to the climate talks.
The election of Donald Trump, who has vowed to drag the world’s largest economy out of the negotiations, was a colossal setback for a round of talks dedicated to raising ambition – and cash for the transition away from fossil fuels.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Sir Keir was one of the few heads of the G20 to actually show up at the talks. President Biden is absent, so too are the leaders of China, Brazil, Germany and France.
The UK’s commitment to cutting emissions will be seen as a statement that it is possible to be a leading economy and leave fossil fuels behind. This reinforces the message these talks are urgently trying to send: that net zero is an opportunity for growth, not economic suicide.
But it’s a political risk. Getting to the 81% cut in emissions within 10 years will take a colossal and, in the short term, costly effort.
Labour’s plans for zero carbon electricity, already ambitious, won’t get us there alone. Making homes more energy efficient and heating them without gas will be essential. So too will fiddly things like protecting peat bogs, uplands and reforming agriculture.
Within the corridors of this summit, Sir Keir’s gamble will be celebrated. Back home, the response might be less enthusiastic.
The UK has been “arguably the leading country in the world at getting emissions out of the power plant that provides the electricity coming through your plug”.
But the “problem right now is definitely in how we heat our homes and transport, how we get around”, and flying and shipping also need plans to get clean, she said.
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Leaders are ‘pressing on’ with climate action
Oil and gas are a ‘gift’ from god
The announcement puts more pressure on other major emitters, as well as host nation Azerbaijan, to publish their own climate plans, known in UN jargon as NDCs (nationally determined contributions).
In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Azerbaijan’s lead negotiator refused to commit to upgrading its current plan while leading the talks.
Azerbaijan’s autocratic president Ilham Aliyev used his opening speech to defend the country’s fossil fuel industry, calling oil and gas a “gift of the God”, just like the sun and wind.
He lashed out at Western critics of his country’s oil and gas industry, saying it had been the victim of a “well-orchestrated campaign of slander and blackmail” and “fake news”.
President Aliyev called it “not fair” to call Azerbaijan a “petrostate”, because it accounts for less than 1% of the world’s oil and gas.
His government relies on fossil fuels for 60% of its budget.
Panama’s capital city will accept cryptocurrency payments for taxes and municipal fees, including bus tickets and permits, Panama City mayor Mayer Mizrachi announced on April 15, joining a growing list of jurisdictions globally that have voted to accept such payments.
Panama City will begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Circle’s USDC (USDC), and Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin for payment once the crypto-to-fiat payment rails are established, Mizrachi posted on the X platform.
Mizrachi said previous administrations attempted to push through similar legislation but failed to overcome stipulations requiring the local government to accept funds denominated in US dollars.
In a translated statement, the Panama City mayor said that the local government partnered with a bank that will immediately convert any digital assets received into US dollars, allowing the municipality to accept crypto without introducing new legislation.
Panama City joins a growing list of global jurisdictions on the municipal and state level accepting cryptocurrency payments for taxes, exploring Bitcoin strategic reserves to protect public treasuries from inflation and passing pro-crypto policies to attract investment.
Related: New York bill proposes legalizing Bitcoin, crypto for state payments
Municipalities and states embrace digital assets
Several municipalities and territories around the globe already accept crypto for tax payments or are exploring various implementations of blockchain technology for government spending.
The US state of Colorado started accepting crypto payments for taxes in September 2022. Much like Panama City said it will do, Colorado immediately converts the crypto to fiat.
In December 2023, the city of Lugano, Switzerland, announced taxes and city fees could be paid in Bitcoin, which was one of the developments that earned it the reputation of being a globally recognized Bitcoin city.
The city council of Vancouver, Canada, passed a motion to become “Bitcoin-friendly city” in December 2024. As part of that motion, the Vancouver local government will explore integrating BTC into the financial system, including tax payments.
North Carolina lawmaker Neal Jackson introduced legislation titled “The North Carolina Digital Asset Freedom Act” on April 10. If passed, the bill will recognize cryptocurrencies as an official form of payment that can be used to pay taxes.
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As digital assets gain mainstream adoption, establishing a legal framework for stablecoins is a “good idea,” said US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
In an April 16 panel at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell commented on the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry, which has delivered a consumer use case that “could have wide appeal” following a difficult “wave of failures and frauds,” he said.
Powell delivers remarks at the Economic Club of Chicago. Source: Bloomberg Television
During crypto’s difficult years, which culminated in 2022 and 2023 with several high-profile business failures, the Fed “worked with Congress to try to get a […] legal framework for stablecoins, which would have been a nice place to start,” said Powell. “We were not successful.”
“I think that the climate is changing and you’re moving into more mainstreaming of that whole sector, so Congress is again looking […] at a legal framework for stablecoins,” he said.
“Depending on what’s in it, that’s a good idea. We need that. There isn’t one now,” said Powell.
This isn’t the first time Powell acknowledged the need for stablecoin legislation. In June 2023, the Fed boss told the House Financial Services Committee that stablecoins were “a form of money” that requires “robust” federal oversight.
Related: Stablecoins are the best way to ensure US dollar dominance — Web3 CEO
Support for stablecoin legislation is growing
The election of US President Donald Trump has ushered in a new era of pro-crypto appointments and policy shifts that could make America a digital asset superpower.
Washington’s formal embrace of cryptocurrency began earlier this year when Trump established the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, with Bo Hines as the executive director.
Hines told a digital asset summit in New York last month that a comprehensive stablecoin bill was a top priority for the current administration. After the Senate Banking Committee passed the GENIUS Act, a final stablecoin bill could arrive at the president’s desk “in the next two months,” said Hines.
Bo Hines (right) speaks of “imminent” stablecoin legislation at the Digital Asset Summit on March 18. Source: Cointelegraph
Stablecoins pegged to the US dollar are by far the most popular tokens used for remittances and cryptocurrency trading.
The combined value of all stablecoins is currently $227 billion, according to RWA.xyz. The dollar-pegged USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT) account for more than 88% of the total market.
Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom
An appellate court has granted a joint request from Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pause an appeal in a 2020 SEC case against Ripple amid settlement negotiations.
In an April 16 filing in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the court approved a joint SEC-Ripple motion to hold the appeal in abeyance — temporarily pausing the case — for 60 days. As part of the order, the SEC is expected to file a status report by June 15.
The SEC’s case against Ripple and its executives, filed in December 2020, was expected to begin winding down after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on March 19 that the commission would be dropping its appeal against the blockchain firm. A federal court found Ripple liable for $125 million in an August ruling, resulting in both the SEC and blockchain firm filing an appeal and cross-appeal, respectively.
However, once US President Donald Trump took office and leadership of the SEC moved from former chair Gary Gensler to acting chair Mark Uyeda, the commission began dropping multiple enforcement cases against crypto firms in a seeming political shift. Ripple pledged $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Garlinghouse and chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty attended events supporting the US president.
Related: SEC dropping Ripple case is ‘final exclamation mark’ that XRP is not a security — John Deaton
Despite support for the end of the case coming from both Ripple and the SEC, the August 2024 judgment and appellate cases leave some legal entanglements. Alderoty said in March that Ripple would drop its cross-appeal with the SEC and receive a roughly $75 million refund from the lower court judgment. It’s unclear what else may result from negotiations over a settlement in appellate court.
New leadership at SEC incoming
Acting chair Uyeda is expected to step down following the US Senate confirming Paul Atkins as SEC chair on April 9.
During his confirmation hearings, lawmakers questioned Atkins about his ties to crypto, which could create conflicts of interest in his role regulating the industry. In financial disclosures, Atkins stated he had millions of dollars in assets through stakes in crypto firms, including Securitize, Pontoro and Patomak.
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