GLASGOW was the driving force behind the Industrial Revolution as a shipbuilder in the world, building the ships that fueled global commerce.

Today it is at the heart of the new global economy, building more satellites than anywhere else in Europe and pioneering clean, green energy, with the UK’s largest onshore wind farm close by.

I saw for myself how Glasgow, not far from my childhood home in Paisley, became a driving force behind our green industrial revolution. Its success shows how essential free enterprise and innovation are to better rebuild after the pandemic while accelerating our transition to net zero.

Today we bring together the largest ever gathering of Presidents and Prime Ministers on British soil as we host the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26.

I look forward to joining them in Glasgow, where we will work to champion clean innovation that will ensure a greener world and more jobs and opportunities for people across the country.

The entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers and factory workers who build the technologies we need are the real heroes of the environmental movement.

The workers who help build wind farms in Glasgow and the North East of England, or the Rolls-Royce workers in Derby who are setting the standard for nuclear power with the next generation of small modular reactors , fuel the new green economy.

Just as we are proud of our history as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, we should be proud to lead the Green Industrial Revolution today.

We harness hydrogen, marking world firsts by using it to power everything from buses in Aberdeen to a brewery in South Wales.

We’re leading the way in wind power, with workers from Teesside helping build what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

We also have manufacturers like Nissan building advanced electric cars in Sunderland.

This is not only vital for our economic success, but also to spur progress in the world.

I have worked hard to deepen our economic, diplomatic and development ties with our friends and international partners.

This is the key to advancing the new, greener global economy we want to see, built on free enterprise and innovation – an economy that embraces the clean technologies of the future rather than burning coal.

We also need to respond to the impacts of climate change that are already being felt around the world.

These effects are often at their peak in the poorest countries.

We must see a global response this week that matches the scale of the problem.

This is why we are intensifying our efforts with our partners to support these countries, in particular by financing clean, green and climate-resilient infrastructure – ports, roads, etc. – reliable and trustworthy.

We need to unlock funding for this infrastructure and invest more where it is needed most.

By working with our allies to co-invest in developing countries, we are helping the world’s poorest countries reap the benefits of new, clean innovations for their economies, our businesses and the planet.

WIN-WIN

It’s a win-win.

We have shown at home that a green economy can be achieved alongside economic success, creating jobs and opportunities.

Over the past three decades, we have already reduced our emissions by 44%, while growing our economy by more than 75%.

Just a few days ago, we set out our detailed strategy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

There are already 200,000 people working directly across the UK in low carbon industries.

That could reach nearly 1.2 million in England alone by 2050.

We are leading by example this week in Glasgow, bringing together a global coalition to tackle the climate crisis.

We are determined to act on coal, cars, money and trees to preserve our natural environment and limit global warming to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels and prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

One of the things we want to make progress on in Glasgow is to tackle devastating deforestation on a global scale. Over the past two decades, the world has lost nearly 100 million hectares of forest – the equivalent of more than 4 times the size of the UK.

But now we have the opportunity to reverse that by stopping deforestation and planting more trees.

For me, it’s personal. I was the first Secretary of State to pledge to plant a million more trees across the UK.

I created the UK’s largest national park, protecting the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District for generations to come.

I want us to show the world that our country is truly a green and pleasant land.

Now is the time to work more closely with our friends and allies to harness the clean, green, job-creating machine that is free enterprise.

This is how we will propel the green industrial revolution, fight climate change and pave the way for a better future.

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Join the Sun’s green team

THE Sun is now encouraging its army of readers to make at least one lifestyle change to slow the advance of climate change.

Anyone can get involved.

We’ve partnered with the global Count Us In campaign to calculate how much carbon you’ll save by giving up your old ways.

Remember that even small changes help.

Find a stage that’s right for you and your family. Continue like this for at least two months and see how you do. It could become a habit.

When you’re ready, try another step. All of this will contribute to change. We will do it together.

Visit thesun.co.uk/pledge and commit to one or more lifestyle changes.

It could save you money and all your actions will go towards a global goal of getting a billion people to make change.

1. Eat more plants – Going without meat for a day reduces carbon emissions as much as not driving for a month.

2. Reduce food waste – The average UK family throws away £ 700 of food a year.

3. Turn down the heat – With soaring energy prices, this will save you money.

4. Insulate your home – Stop heating the sky with heat escaping through your roof.

5. Repair and Reuse – We drop the equivalent of 250 t-shirts per year.

6. On foot or by bike an extra trip per day – gasoline-powered cars emit twice as much pollution in their first five minutes of use, so even short trips add to climate change.