Rishi Sunak U-turned this morning and confirmed he will attend the Cop27 environmental conference in Egypt next week.
The PM had initially indicated he would not travel to North Africa despite the UK hosting the previous event in Glasgow last year. [bold, links added]
The change came after Mr. Sunak’s predecessor Boris Johnson confirmed he would attend, having made the environment a key plank of his premiership.
Writing on Twitter, Mr. Sunak said: ‘There is no long-term prosperity without action on climate change. There is no energy security without investing in renewables.
‘That is why I will attend Cop27 next week: to deliver on Glasgow’s legacy of building a secure and sustainable future.’
The PM previously said he had to focus on Britain’s ‘depressing domestic challenges’ but faced growing pressure to join other world leaders at the conference next week.
Mr. Sunak changed his mind about attending the Sharm El-Sheikh gathering after making ‘good progress’ on those domestic matters, including the Autumn Statement later this month, according to Downing Street. …snip…
He added there was ‘unanimous agreement’ that King Charles will still not attend Cop27, despite Mr. Sunak’s decision to go.
The PM’s predecessor, Liz Truss, is claimed to have objected to His Majesty attending the Egypt summit during an audience at Buckingham Palace last month. …snip…
Responding to Mr. Sunak’s U-turn on Cop27, Labour’s shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said: ‘The PM has been shamed into going to Cop27 by the torrent of disbelief that he would fail to turn up.
‘He is going to avoid embarrassment, not to provide leadership.’
Read rest at Daily Mail
“There is no energy security without investing in renewables.” Huh? It’s the least dependable source of energy. Maybe Sunak should try flying a kite to COP27.
Same quote.
That’s 100% bass ackwards. Security does not come from weather dependent sources.
And he wont be using Flying Carpet to get there