New prime minister Rishi Sunak, is coming under political criticism following the announcement that he will now not personally attend the COP27 climate change summit in Sharma-el-Sheikh next month.
The COP 27 summit, which is scheduled for 6 to 18 November, will clash with Chancellor’s Jeremy Hunt’s financial statement which has now been moved to 17 November.
Downing Street has attributed Mr Sunak’s absence from the summit to his ‘pressing domestic commitments including preparations for the autumn budget’. Through this financial statement the government is facing a number of difficult decisions on tax and spending as it seeks to close a gap of up to £50 billion hole in the public finances. That figure is equivalent to 2% of GDP.
The move by Mr Sunak on COP27 has added significance because the UK is currently the COP president and will remain so until it formerly hands over the reins to Egypt in Sharm-el-Sheikh.
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Responding to the news, the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer reacted on Twitter to say, “My Labour government will show climate leadership. Britain showing up to work with world leaders is an opportunity to grasp. Not an event to shun”.
His comments were mirrored by the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey who said, “Rishi Sunak wants to keep the ban on new onshore wind, is failing to help families insulate their homes and is now refusing to attend the COP summit. His actions fly in the face of the UK’s proud record of leading the global fight against climate change”.
Campaign groups have also reacted angrily to the news. Christian Aid’s Head of Advocacy and Policy, Fionna Smyth, said, “It’s extremely disappointing to see Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has chosen not to attend this year’s COP27 climate summit in Egypt. So much for Global Britain”.
The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, has called for King Charles to attend the COP 27 summit. It was announced last month that King Charles would not attend COP27 after discussions with Liz Truss.
With the UK’s financial statement previously planned for 31 October, Ms Truss had herself planned to attend COP27. The government will now be represented at the conference, by Alok Sharma, who presided over the COP26 summit.
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