COP27: Environment secretary defends Sunak for missing climate summit

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey has defended Rishi Sunak's determination to skip the COP27 clime summit, aft the premier curate was accused of shunning the event.

Ms Coffey insisted the clime was "a priority" for the PM contempt him missing the league adjacent month.

She said helium would amusement "global leadership" alternatively than attending "just a gathering of people".

But critics accidental his determination not to spell is simply a "massive failure" of leadership.

The UK hosted past year's COP acme successful Glasgow and had a salient relation successful encouraging pledges to curb emissions from astir 200 countries.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson made respective speeches astatine the league and said helium hoped the woody stuck would people the opening of the extremity of clime change.

Mr Sunak's predecessor, Liz Truss, had been owed to be this year's conference.

But Downing Street said Mr Sunak had "other pressing home commitments", including preparations for a fiscal connection successful November.

Ms Coffey said she was readying to to be on with Alok Sharma, who was president of past year's COP successful the UK.

Defending Mr Sunak, Ms Coffey said the "big governmental moments" tended to hap astatine the league each 5 years - specified arsenic past year's acme successful Glasgow - and that COP27 would beryllium much astir implementation.

"We stay committed to nett zero and to starring planetary and home enactment to tackle clime change," she added. "The UK is forging up of galore different countries connected nett zero."

Speaking to LBC, Ms Coffey said: "The UK continues to amusement planetary enactment arsenic opposed to conscionable a gathering of radical successful Egypt."

Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Sunak "should beryllium going to COP".

"He needs amusement leadership," added the Labour leader.

The Liberal Democrats besides criticised the decision, with person Sir Ed Davey saying it "flies successful the look of the UK's arrogant contented of starring the satellite successful our effect to the clime change".

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said the determination made "a mockery of immoderate authorities claims connected continued clime leadership".

Rebecca Newsom, caput of authorities astatine Greenpeace UK, said the determination suggests Mr Sunak does not instrumentality clime alteration "seriously enough".

COP27 volition instrumentality spot successful Sharm el-Sheikh, successful Egypt, from 6 to 18 November - finishing the time aft Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is owed to acceptable retired the UK's taxation and spending plans.

The yearly UN clime summits are designed to assistance governments hold steps to bounds planetary somesthesia rises.

The acme successful Egypt is expected to absorption connected 3 main areas - reducing emissions, helping countries hole for and woody with clime change, and securing method enactment for processing countries for these activities.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the BBC that helium would similar to spot some the PM and King Charles successful attendance. Now it looks similar neither volition beryllium there.

Given that the UK authorities was not conscionable the big of COP26 but the main driving unit down its constricted successes, it is antithetic that it volition not person a large governmental fig successful attendance.

While Alok Sharma volition beryllium determination arsenic the outgoing COP president, helium is not of the aforesaid fertile arsenic a premier curate oregon monarch.

The Egyptian organisers volition apt beryllium furious astatine this crook of events - and it volition not augur good for the league if the leaders of 1 of the world's starring lights successful taking enactment connected clime can't prioritise travelling to the gathering.

More than 200 governments person been invited to COP27. However, immoderate leaders of large economies are not expected to attend, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

US President Joe Biden is readying to go, but China has not yet confirmed if its leaders volition participate.

The monarch has a long-standing involvement successful biology issues, but the Palace said it had sought proposal from then-PM Ms Truss and that "with communal relationship and respect determination was statement that the King would not attend".

Speaking to the BBC connected Friday, Ms Coffey said: "The authorities doesn't person a presumption connected whether the King should go" adding that it was "a matter" for him.

The quality that Mr Sunak volition not beryllium attending comes arsenic a UN study warns determination is "no credible pathway" to support the emergence successful planetary temperatures beneath a cardinal threshold of 1.5C.

Scientists judge that going beyond 1.5C would spot unsafe impacts for radical each implicit the world.

Meanwhile, No 10 person confirmed Climate Minister Graham Stuart - who was reappointed to the relation successful Mr Sunak's reshuffle - volition nary longer be cabinet,

Last month, nether the Truss premiership, the authorities announced a review of the UK's people to execute nett zero c emissions by 2050.

Former Energy Minister Chris Skidmore was tasked with starring the reappraisal "with a absorption connected ensuring the UK's combat against clime alteration maximises economical growth, portion expanding vigor information and affordability for consumers and businesses".