Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States could mean it is “game over” for the planet because of his views on climate change, Labour will warn.
Shadow cabinet minister Clive Lewis will say that Trump’s success makes it vital for the UK to step up and take a leading role on protecting the environment.
His comments come as Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told the Oxford Union he did not accept global warming was happening. “I do not believe in global warming,” he said. “Do I believe it’s a scam? Yes I do.”
Yesterday the Chinese government also told Trump it had not created climate change as he had once claimed.
Lewis will also use a wide-ranging speech to call for a “new and lasting relationship” between Labour and business as the party seeks to respond to the “chaos” of Brexit under the Conservatives.
Shadow business, energy and industrial strategy secretary Lewis will offer a “new deal” between Labour and the UK’s companies and workers.
Lewis will set out Labour’s goal of ensuring 60% of energy for power and heating comes from renewable sources by 2030
The plan could involve doubling solar capacity, new tidal installations in areas such as Swansea Bay and nuclear power.
He will highlight the UK’s responsibility to play a major role following the election of controversial tycoon Trump, who has called global warming a “hoax”.
In a speech in London on Thursday, Lewis will say: “There is a real danger that, without urgent action, the election of Donald Trump could mean ‘game over’ for our planet.
“It is time for Britain to show leadership on one of the biggest challenges confronting humanity today.
“But it’s not just about tackling climate change. It is about energy security in an increasingly insecure world.
“Breaking ahead in rapidly expanding markets for green technologies, creating hundreds of thousands of good manufacturing jobs and boosting productivity in the process. It is about reducing our reliance on dirty, imported fuels and becoming a net exporter of energy and energy technologies.”
As Bloomberg reports, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said Wednesday that it was Republican U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush ― not the Chinese ― who started the conversation about global warming.
“If you look at the history of climate change negotiations, actually it was initiated by the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] with the support of the Republicans during the Reagan and senior Bush administration during the late 1980s,” Zhenmin reportedly told reporters gathered at United Nations talks in Morocco.
During a presidential debate in September, Trump snapped at Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton after she criticized him for calling climate change a hoax, saying “I did not say that.”