Over the last government there was progress on climate change, in a way that has increased UK ambition in the world and strengthened the economy. In February 2015 the prime minister signed up to a climate pledge, promising action in three areas. There is a need to act fast to be able to deliver on these promises, as 2015 is an important year for climate decisions.

Together with a group of leading environment and development NGOs we have published this action plan for the new government, setting out a timeline of the key decisions needed. These decisions include:

• International leadership: support a global goal to reduce overall carbon emissions to zero by the middle of this century, reflecting the commitment made in the UK’s Climate Change Act, and make the case for protecting the world’s poorest from serious climate change impacts.
• Clarity on energy transition:  set a date to end unabated coal power generation in the early 2020s, to increase investment in new clean power generation.
• Leadership on energy efficiency: set the goal to make two million of the UK’s low income homes energy efficient, addressing concerns that the Conservative manifesto lowered previous coalition government commitments to helping householders save energy.