No 10 chaos over Rishi Sunak’s attendance in Cop27
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Salma Hossein
- . November 1, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 1:12 am
Rishi Sunak may attend the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt, said the Downing Street after MPs and charities have urged him to reverse his decision of not attending the UN climate summit. The UK prime minister’s official spokesperson said the situation was “under review” after criticism over Sunak’s absence in Cop27 and news of possible presence of his predecessor Boris Johnson at the UN summit emerged.
A group of parliamentarians of various parties, including several Tories, which was led by Chris Skidmore, had written to Sunak on Monday urging him to go to Egypt for the climate summit. The group said: “We hope that, as prime minister, you will use your power to support environmental politics which improve the economy whilst enhancing the environment at home and abroad.” The letter had added, “The decisions your government takes will have a noticeable impact on the lives of people across the country, and indeed our entire planet, for generations to come.”
The RSPB and Friends of the Earth also called on the PM to join world leaders including Emmanuel Macron of France and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, at the summit, The Guardian notes.
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Earlier on Monday, the environment minister Mark Spencer told broadcasters he would like to see the PM attend – “if he’s got time”. “I think the prime minister has a huge inbox. He’s come into office, he’s got an inbox which is full to the brim. Clearly, he wants to concentrate on the financial statement and that’s what he’s doing,” Spencer told Sky News.
The earlier stand by No 10 – that Rishi Sunak would not be attending the Cop27 citing “depressing domestic challenges” – was changed on Monday when the British PM’s official spokesperson said, “The prime minister is focused on pressing domestic issues, most significantly preparing for the autumn statement, so any attendance at Cop would depend on progress on preparation for that fiscal event, and that work is ongoing.” He added, “The prime minister fully recognises the importance of the Cop summit and is fully committed to addressing climate change.”
