Today was budget day in the UK. As far as climate change it is "business as usual", i.e.
- economic growth in the same way as before is the priority,
Actually the UK is pretty much in line with Paris already, having, by most measures, already reduced CO2 emissions to the required level.
In the UK there are two challenges now.
1. remove the last of the Coal power stations. This is in progress and we are delivering offshore wind and new Nuclear to do that.
2. replace the old and expiring Nuclear power stations with new Nuclear to keep a baseline power supply without requiring to dip into coal.
Gas fired power will remain the fast acting contingency until enough CO2 neutral power is available.
The UK also has the opportunity to use taxation to drive users from FFV to EV, driving down CO2 emissions even more.
Over the water in mainland EU, it is a very different story. France is not too bad, Germany is struggling, the Nordics are well on the way to being carbon Neutral but then there are all those former East Bloc countries with ageing and creaking coal powered electricity systems. Nobody really wants to get into Russia for too much more gas because it gives Russia too much power over them. Seen in winter before.
The countries who desperately need investment in clean energy simply don't have the money to spend.
Whilst the UK does not need further stimulus to meet the Paris accord, the EU desperately needed the UK to mitigate all those other countries who can't get there. The UK was on a path to radically reduce more CO2 so that Germany, Italy and all the East Bloc countries could get a pass on the UK coat tails. That is no longer an issue and the UK only has to look after the UK promises.
So we have more important things to do with our money. Not that we get any kudos for what we have already done.... Just more criticism.