London, November 30, 2023, The Europe Today: Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will be heading to COP28 as the climate conference gets under way in Dubai on Thursday.
The UN climate meeting will last until 12 December. It is not yet clear who will host next year’s COP as it is set to take place in Eastern Europe – but selection has been complicated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Sunak’s role at the summit will be to “set the tone and show political will” on the behalf of the UK when it comes to addressing climate change, according to an official.
He will also be seeking to reassure other countries of his green commitments, after his U-turns on domestic climate pledges earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir’s visit will see him meet with international partners as he both looks to trumpet his green credentials and also position himself as a prime minister in waiting.
This approach was seen at Prime Minister’s Questions this week, where Sir Keir said he met with Greece’s premier and told him the Elgin Marbles would not return to Athens – and compared this to Mr Sunak cancelling a meeting with his Greek counterpart.
The government official confirmed that Sir Keir would not be involved in any negotiations carried out by the UK while there.
Graham Stewart, the minister for energy security and net zero, will be the government representative who will lead the discussions on the UK’s behalf.
Mr Sunak is understood to have five priorities for COP this year.
The first is keeping the 1.5C figure alive – the target to limit climate change to an increase of temperatures by 1.5C.
The second is to bring around a global adaption agenda, which would provide money for people at risk from the impacts of climate change.
Green finance is another area the government wants to focus on, with the UK wanting to make clear its commitment to delivering on the $100bn a year global finance target for green projects by 2025.
The fourth target is to get the Santiago Network up and running – this is a partnership of organisations, bodies, networks and experts looking to help developing countries with climate change.
And the fifth goal is to make sure that nature is embedded into all the government’s priorities – including things like the global stock system and deforestation targets.
Asked if the government’s recent changes on net zero policies – including the delay of a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel-powered cars – had impacted negotiations, the official said they had not.
“The UK has made its positions very clear and has always been seen as a partner in climate negotiations,” they said.
“It will continue to be seen as a partner in climate negotiations.”
On the Labour side, a senior party source said Sir Keir was going because “it’s in the national interest and because Labour needs to be fighting for Britain’s jobs and investment”.
They added that Sir Keir “wants to see Britain back on the world stage as a leader on global issues – including climate”.
The Labour leader is said to have a series of bilateral meetings planned for his time in Dubai.
The source said Sir Keir is also targeting COP30 in Brazil in 2025, which will potentially be the first for Sir Keir as prime minister if the election happens late next year and Labour wins.
“He doesn’t want to be going into a general election unprepared,” the source added.
