Following backlash from climate campaigners and opposition parties Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has today reversed his decision not to attend COP27, just days before the key climate event begins.
Sunak initially defended his position to remain absent from COP, saying that addressing ‘depressing domestic challenges’ is what the public would ‘reasonably expect’ him to be focusing on at this time.
But criticism led to a re-think and the PM has today confirmed his attendance at the summit, telling MPs during PM’s Questions that he would travel to Egypt ‘to deliver on Glasgow’s legacy, building a secure, clean and sustainable future’.
Let this be a lesson to him – climate leadership matters
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas – who previously said Sunak’s absence would send a ‘deeply serious’ signal to the world – has welcomed what she calls ‘a screeching U-turn’. “Let this be a lesson to him – climate leadership matters.”
It is not known whether the PM will remain on the guest list for King Charles’ pre-COP reception at Buckingham Palace on 4 November, where he was due to address 200 politicians, business leaders and campaigners about practical measures to tackle the climate crisis.
