By John Ikani
New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will not attend the COP27 climate summit in Egypt next month despite having promised this week to prioritise the environment.
His predecessor, Liz Truss, had reportedly planned to go to at least one day of the summit, but Sunak’s spokesperson said he had “other pressing domestic commitments including preparations for the Autumn Budget”.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who preceded Truss, had been an enthusiastic participant in last year’s COP26.
Johnson has been outspoken about the consequences of climate change, saying during last year’s conference that the world was at “one minute to midnight” on global warming and climate crisis.
“We remain committed to net zero and to leading international and domestic action to tackle climate change. The UK is forging ahead of many other countries on net zero,“ Sunak spokesperson assured.
“We will obviously continue to work closely with Egypt as the hosts of COP27 and to make sure that all countries are making progress on the historic commitments they made at the Glasgow climate pact.”
The spokesperson added the UK would be “fully represented by other senior ministers”, including current COP president Alok Sharma.
The U.N.’s two-week COP27 summit will be hosted by Egypt next month, from Nov. 6 to 18.
The annual UN climate summits are designed to help governments agree steps to limit global temperature rises. The UK hosted COP26 in Glasgow in 2021.
