Andy Burnham has pledged to “meet the climate challenge” as he confirmed he would attend the annual UN climate summit in November. Addressing MPs for the first time as Prime Minister, Mr Burnham said he would attend the Cop 31 meeting in Antalya, on Turkey’s southern coast, as his predecessors had done.
Climate crisis warning
Pointing to last week’s devastating floods in Nepal, he told MPs: “This is what the climate crisis looks like. We have just ourselves experienced what is likely to have been the hottest summer on record. This Government will meet the climate challenge, and I can confirm to the House that I will attend Cop 31 in Turkey in November.”
His commitment to attend Cop 31 came only a few hours after provisional figures from the Met Office suggested 2026 was the UK’s hottest summer since records began. The average temperature across June, July and August was 16.5C, beating the previous high of 16.1C set only last year.
Record temperatures and heatwaves
This summer was also the first to see three separate days where temperatures exceeded 37C as parts of the country suffered as many as five heatwaves thought to have caused thousands of deaths.
Green Party MP Adrian Ramsey said the summer’s high temperatures required “a response that meets the needs of the moment and our future”, urging Mr Burnham not to approve new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
