Lammy to announce “green dimension” to Labour’s foreign policy offer

David Lammy will announce to Labour conference delegates a new “green dimension” to its foreign policy as he warns that “the climate crisis is the biggest challenge the world faces”.

Addressing the party’s annual gathering today, the Shadow Foreign Secretary will warn that the danger posed by the climate emergency is “not a distant threat” but is “here today”.

“While Liz Truss tries to row back on our Net Zero commitments, Labour’s foreign policy will be green. Just as Robin Cook was right to introduce an ‘ethical dimension’ to our foreign policy in the 1990s, it is right that the next Labour government introduces a ‘Green dimension’,” Lammy will tell conference delegates.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary will announce a number of policy pledges around this theme, including making the climate crisis a standing item on the agenda of the National Security Council and pushing for climate action to become a fourth pillar of the UN. Labour has said that in government it will:

• Working with international partners at the ICC to agree a new international law of ecocide, creating international criminal responsibility for large scale, wanton, and unlawful destruction of the environment.
• Putting the environment at the top of the international agenda by pushing for climate action to become a fourth pillar of the UN.
• Recommit to 0.7% development spending, to support developing countries addressing climate change and meet the UK’s commitments to international climate finance following government cuts.
• Making the climate crisis a standing item on the agenda of the National Security Council, reflecting the gravity and urgency of the challenge.
• Never again allowing the UK’s energy security to be tied to the whims of fossil fuel autocrats.

The announcement will follow Keir Starmer’s comments this morning, in which he said a Labour government would commit to making Britain a “clean energy superpower” by 2030. The Labour leader said “the British people are sick and tired of rocketing energy bills and our energy system being exposed to dictators”.

“Our plan for clean power by 2030 will save the British people £93bn off their energy bills, and break the UK’s vulnerability to Putin and his cronies”, Starmer said. “It will also support out drive for higher growth and rising living standards.”

The Labour leader said the party would build a power system run entirely by cheap, home-grown renewables and nuclear by the end of this decade with proposals to quadruple offshore wind, triple solar and double onshore wind production by 2030.