The Prime Minister’s UN Speech

The document outlines ClientEarth's perspective on four key climate priorities: phasing out coal, reducing urban air pollution through Clean Air Zones, mobilising climate finance for developing nations, and implementing a more ambitious legal framework to combat global deforestation.

• The UK government is advocating for a global commitment at COP26 to phase out coal power, specifically targeting no new coal plants globally, a phase-out in developed countries by 2030, and a phase-out in developing countries by 2040.
• Air pollution is estimated to cause up to 40,000 early deaths annually in the UK, with a social cost to individuals and the NHS exceeding £20bn per year.
• Clean Air Zones (CAZs), such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London, are identified as the most effective method for rapidly reducing illegal nitrogen dioxide levels; the ULEZ reduced these levels by 37% in the three months preceding the first Covid-19 lockdown.
• Developed countries have failed to meet the 2010 and 2015 Paris Agreement commitment to provide $100bn annually in climate finance to developing nations starting in 2020, reaching only $78.9bn a year after the deadline.
• The UK government intends to increase its International Climate Finance commitment to £11.6bn over the five-year period ending in 2025/26 to support developing nations.
• ClientEarth research indicates that most top UK-listed companies are not adequately reporting on climate risk as required by UK law, leading to incomplete information for investors.
• The UK's proposed legal framework in Schedule 17 of the Environment Bill to tackle deforestation is criticised for only addressing 'illegal' deforestation under the laws of exporting countries, which ClientEarth argues is insufficient and risks legitimising environmental destruction in countries like Brazil.

APA

ClientEarth (2021). The Prime Minister’s UN Speech. https://www.clientearth.org/media/r3wlvobl/clientearth-boris-johnson-unga-briefing.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. The Prime Minister’s UN Speech. 2021. https://www.clientearth.org/media/r3wlvobl/clientearth-boris-johnson-unga-briefing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=The Prime Minister’s UN Speech |date=September 2021 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/r3wlvobl/clientearth-boris-johnson-unga-briefing.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2021prime, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{The Prime Minister’s UN Speech}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/r3wlvobl/clientearth-boris-johnson-unga-briefing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }