Rishi Sunak will now attend COP27 climate summit
The UK prime minister has reversed an earlier decision not to go to the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, after previously stating that he was too busy preparing for the 17 November budget to attend the event which opens on Sunday November 6th 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh. The decision had been widely criticised by climate campaigners, opposition parties and climate adviser Alok Sharma.
Mr Sunak told MPs during Prime Minister's Questions, there was no long-term prosperity without action on climate change, or energy security without investment in renewables.
"That's why I will attend COP27 next week - to deliver on Glasgow's legacy of building a secure, clean and sustainable future".
The UK hosted last year's COP (Conference Of The Parties) in Glasgow and it was chaired by Mr Sharma, who had said he was "disappointed" Mr Sunak would not be attending, tweeting that he was "delighted" the prime minister would now be going.
Opposition leaders were quick to criticise the decision which has been reported in a recent BBC News article:
Green MP Caroline Lucas welcomed what she called a "screeching U-turn" after "an embarrassing mis-step on the world stage". "Let this be a lesson to him - climate leadership matters," she said. "We've lost a huge amount of credibility by the prime minister dragging his feet on this," she added.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of acting "in the name of political management" rather than the national interest. "Caving in to criticism is not leadership. Real leadership is seizing your seat at the table. For UK jobs. For clean energy. For our environment," he tweeted.
Liberal Democrat climate change spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said: "This whole debacle has shown the environment is simply not a priority for Rishi Sunak. He's only going after being embarrassed by Boris Johnson's attendance."
Downing Street rejected that, saying the prime minister had "always recognised the importance of this summit and indeed tackling climate change more generally".
He "wanted to make sure we were making good progress on the government's domestic agenda and the autumn statement in particular," it said.
After discussions with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt this week, Mr Sunak felt there was "sufficient space to make this trip", it added.
His official spokesman said the prime minister was hoping to make progress on the commitment to halt deforestation by 2030, and to agree new partnerships on clean and renewable energy.
Mr Sharma, who had said he was "disappointed" Mr Sunak would not be attending, tweeted that he was "delighted" the prime minister would now be going.
Many world leaders including US President Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron are due to attend the UN event. Mr Sunak's predecessor Liz Truss had been set to go and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will also be there.
A number of countries had also criticised Mr Sunak's earlier decision not to go and questioned the UK's commitment to tackle the climate crisis.
The Egyptian government, which is hosting COP27, voiced its "disappointment". Carlos Fuller, Belize's ambassador to the UN, told The Guardian it looked as if the UK was "washing their hands of leadership".
Mohammed Nasheed, speaker of the Maldives parliament and a former president, said nothing was more serious than climate change.
It’s not likely that Rishi Sunak attending the UN climate conference in Egypt will significantly change its outcome, but the signal that the UK prime minister acknowledges the importance of the conference is welcome.
The fact that the UK Prime Minister reversed his decision and will now attend this year’s conference emphasises the important role leaders play in galvanising the talks and creating momentum for the ambitious agreements to be made.
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