Joint Statement by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and France on Wildfires and Action on Climate Change

Joint Statement by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and France on Wildfires and Action on Climate Change
The UK and France committed to strengthening cooperation to anticipate, prevent and respond to climate-related risks, particularly wildfires, and called for greater international action to tackle climate change and build resilience.
In the context of the unprecedented wildfires and heatwaves being experienced across Europe as a consequence of the global climate crisis, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the Right Honourable Edward Samuel Miliband, and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, reaffirm their shared determination to address this threat. The two Ministers affirm that this summer’s wildfires demonstrated the risks posed to Europe by climate change and call on all countries to intensify their efforts to tackle its causes while boosting resilience to its effects.
Building on the UK–France Declaration of Intent on Global Issues and Development signed in 2025, they commit to strengthening cooperation to anticipate, prevent and respond to climate-related risks, especially wildfires, as well as to deepen coordination through their broader climate and environmental partnership, including through multilateral fora.
Recognising that the increasing impacts of climate change know no borders, the United Kingdom and France will work together to advance international efforts on climate resilience, including through enhanced adaptation measures, strengthened preparedness and risk reduction, and coordinated responses to threats that affect our shared environment, security and prosperity.
The two Ministers, reaffirm their commitment to protect all vulnerable populations by early warning systems and the CREWS initiative as the key vehicle for delivering the UN Secretary-General’s ambition of universal early-warning coverage through Early Warnings for All. They agree on the importance of promoting investment frameworks that facilitate sustainable finance, innovation and competitiveness, and recognise the key role of international financial institutions multilateral development banks and the mobilisation of private finance in channeling investment and supporting climate action.
They recognise that tackling the causes and consequences of climate change is essential to safeguarding the security, stability and resilience of our societies for future generations and supports us today as we secure our energy supplies and tackle the cost of living.
At a time of growing climate risk, the two Ministers, reaffirm their support for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and its temperatures goals. They recall their determination to defend the role of science, as the compass to global climate and environmental action and underline the importance of the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report as a critical input to the Second Global Stocktake.
The two Ministers, call on all parties, as per their obligations as members of the Paris Agreement, and in particular major emitters, to publish their nationally determined contributions (NDC) aligned with the 1.5°C temperature goal, covering all sectors and greenhouse gases, and contributing to transitioning away from fossil fuels, as adopted in the First Global Stocktake at COP28. They emphasize the need to strengthen synergies between the three Rio Conventions, and commit to continuing to work jointly for high integrity carbon markets that could, inter alia, unlock long term investments for nature and biodiversity.
The two Ministers, reaffirm their commitment to continue to work jointly to encourage all major emitters to meet their domestic climate target and long-term low carbon development strategy, and strive to do more. Building on the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Methane launched during London Climate Action Week, they will seek to accelerate methane emissions reductions at COP31, encouraging all parties to work jointly to develop a marketplace for fossil fuels with near-zero methane intensity.