Prime Minister Andy Burnham will pledge a “new era of British leadership” on climate action as he announces a new climate security envoy at the United Nations Cop31 summit in Turkey, warning that the global consensus on tackling the crisis has broken down.
Attending the annual climate gathering for the first time as Prime Minister on Thursday, he will warn that the “climate crisis is upon all of us now” after a “not normal” summer of extreme heat, wildfires and drought. He will insist the UK “remains determined to reach net zero by 2050”, amid accusations his Government is deprioritising the green agenda.
New climate security envoy announced
Mr Burnham, who landed in Antalya on Wednesday evening, is expected to be the only G7 leader to address the summit in the Mediterranean resort city, with US President Donald Trump declining to send a delegation for the second year running.
The Prime Minister will announce that Dame Madeleine Alessandri, former chairwoman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, has been appointed special representative for climate security. Her role will involve strengthening international partnerships and ensuring climate and nature risks are treated as a matter of national security, with a focus on identifying risks before they develop into crises.
Prime Minister's message to the summit
Mr Burnham is expected to tell the conference: “We should all recognise the summer was not normal. The climate crisis is upon all of us now. We saw that with the wildfires that devastated lives and livelihoods everywhere. The message I carry here, in my first Cop as Prime Minister, is that the UK remains determined to reach net zero by 2050 and to work with our partners to build a clean energy future. The world has changed. The consensus we once enjoyed on science and climate action has broken down. We will not stand by and that's why I've pledged a new era of British leadership over the next decade.”
Dame Madeleine said she will “work with partners across government and internationally to strengthen our understanding of climate threats, build resilience, and ensure we are better prepared for the challenges ahead.”
Bilateral meetings and green investment
Mr Burnham is set to hold a bilateral meeting in the margins of the summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The pair will discuss efforts to protect the Amazon rainforest, reverse deforestation and accelerate the transition to clean energy, including Britain's support for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, according to Downing Street.
Cop31 comes as soaring global oil and gas prices triggered by the Iran war have prompted governments to rethink their energy policies. Mr Burnham's commitment to the green agenda has been thrown into question amid speculation ministers are considering slashing a target for electric vehicle sales by about a quarter. The Government's approval of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea dismayed environmentalists, who are urging it not to greenlight the larger Rosebank oil project.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres warned leaders at Cop31 on Wednesday that “fossil fuels must go the way of the dinosaurs” as they are putting the world on a “path to mutually assured destruction”.
Reactions and further commitments
Ruth Fuller, chief climate adviser at the WWF conservation organisation, said: “Any commitments at Cop31 will ring hollow if he allows drilling in the Rosebank oilfield and rolls back on targets for electric vehicles. All eyes are on what Andy Burnham does on climate to help bring down food and energy bills in the UK. It will either highlight genuine leadership or disappointing lip service.”
Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends Of The Earth, said: “Here's hoping the Prime Minister has something up his sleeve that will turn things around tomorrow – starting with a commitment to phase out fossil fuels fully, reject Rosebank once and for all, and stump up real finance to support the countries most exposed to the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis.”
Ahead of his trip, Mr Burnham sought to bolster his green credentials by welcoming a £12 billion investment, including £1 billion from the state-owned National Wealth Fund, in offshore wind farms off the Norfolk coast. At Cop31, the Prime Minister will announce further UK investment in the Climate Investment Funds' Amplifi initiative, which aims to attract up to £12 in private investment for every £1 of public funding. He will also endorse host nation Turkey's pledge to increase the share of global energy demand met by electricity from 21% to 35% by 2035.
The Government will publish a clean electrification road map setting out its plans to build affordable and secure energy systems. The UK currently ranks 15th among G20 nations on electrification of its energy system, according to analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.
Delegation and diplomatic schedule
The Prince of Wales is expected to attend Cop31 alongside a UK delegation including Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and climate minister Katie White. Absent from the summit will be the leaders of large emitters China and India, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi. Others staying away include France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz and Italy's Giorgia Meloni, as the summit coincides with a gathering of around 50 European leaders in Ireland.
Mr Burnham's diplomatic whirlwind will see him fly from Antalya to Dublin for the European Political Community meeting on Thursday, where he is expected to announce further sanctions against Russia and discuss hybrid threats to European security. He will hold a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings at the summit, which comes after he reopened the debate about Britain's relationship with the bloc and ahead of the UK-EU reset summit in Brussels next Friday.
