Cameron, Miliband and Clegg sign UK climate change pledge

The leaders of the UK’s three main political parties have joined forces in a pledge to target a strong legally binding climate change deal.

Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron (pictured left), along with Labour Party leader Ed Miliband (pictured centre), and the leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg (pictured right) signed the pledge with a global binding agreement due to be reached at the crucial Paris climate summit in December.

The agreement between the leaders commits them to a pledge to try and limit global temperatures from rising above a UN target of 2°C which could lead to dangerous climate change.

The deal is expected to enhance the UK’s national security and will benefit both investors and businesses.

The Prime Minister, Deputy Minister and leader of the opposition released a joint statement saying: “Climate change is one of the most serious threats facing the world today. It is not just a threat to the environment, but also to our national and global security, to poverty eradication and economic prosperity”.

The joint statement went on to say: “Acting on climate change is also an opportunity for the UK to grow a stronger economy, which is more efficient and more resilient to the risks ahead. It is in our national interest to act and ensure others act with us”.

Coinciding with the Climate Change Act the UK political party leaders have agreed to a carbon budget and “to accelerate the transition to a competitive, energy-efficient low-carbon economy and to end the use of unabated coal for power generation”.

The former Vice President of the US, Al Gore hailed the agreement as “inspiring leadership and true statesmanship” whilst the former leader of the Conservative Party, Lord Howard of Lympne stated the climate change agreement represents UK’s determined efforts to tackle the issues of climate change for the world to follow.

The CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman said: “The importance of this pledge cannot be overstated. In this critical year, both the international climate change negotiations and the agreement of the sustainable development goals, this statement of cross-part recognition of the important of climate action, as well as support for a legally binding global deal, sets a terrific example for other countries to investors”.

CEO of Siemens, Juergen Maier, who started on a £310m wind turbine factory in Hull, said: “The low-carbon transition represents a major economic opportunity and this demonstration of cross-party support sends a clear message that the UK remains a good place for global companies to do low-carbon business”.