Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Boris Johnson ‘missing in action’ ahead of vital climate talks, says Keir Starmer

Boris Johnson ‘missing in action’ ahead of vital climate talks, says Keir Starmer

Exclusive: Labour leader says prime minister’s lack of ambition risks failure of Cop26
Vital UN climate talks are at risk of failure because Boris Johnson is “missing in action” while his climate spokesperson talks about freezing bread, Keir Starmer has warned.

The Labour leader said there is already “dystopia” all around caused by climate breakdown, but Johnson’s ambition to tackle the scale of the crisis is irresponsibly small.

The UK will host the Cop26 summit in Glasgow this November, where countries must set out plans for drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions for this decade, to avoid catastrophic and irreversible changes to the climate.

“As host of the summit, the world is looking to Britain to deliver,” writes Starmer in today’s Guardian. “We cannot afford to miss this moment, but I fear we will.”

The government was off-track to meet its own climate targets, while ministers scrapped measures to reduce emissions such as the green homes grant insulation scheme, and were allowing high-carbon development, such as a potential new coalmine, Starmer wrote.

The prime minister was delivering “a cabaret of soundbites” rather than the global leadership needed, he charged.

“All over the world, unusual weather events show that dystopia is not on the horizon. It is here today, all around us,” he wrote.

“At this vital moment, our prime minister is missing in action, while his climate spokesperson is busy advising people to freeze their leftover bread. When the issues at stake are so large, it really is irresponsible for the response to be so small.”

Downing Street has faced mounting criticism over its conduct of Cop26, the outcome of which some observers described as “hanging in the balance”. The government’s host year kicked off with scientists chastising ministers over plans for a new coalmine in Cumbria, while diplomats despaired over the decision to slash overseas aid, considered a disastrous signal to other countries as a crucial goal of Cop26 will be raising $100bn a year for the developing world.

The prime minister’s spokesperson for Cop26, Allegra Stratton, has also made headlines recently, appearing to reject electric cars, suggesting people could join the Green party, and saying the government’s 2050 net zero emissions target was too far off. Diplomatic eyebrows were also raised when John Kerry, the US climate envoy, made a major speech in Kew Gardens that no government minister attended.

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “Boris Johnson has mastered the dark art of setting bold long-term targets but ducked implementing policies that will make a difference. He needs to start delivering on the tough choices needed for a successful low-carbon economy. As host of the Glasgow summit, the world’s eyes are on us to prove there is a solution to the climate emergency. If we fail, the summit fails. So far the omens are not good.”

Starmer told the Guardian in an interview that the impression was one of a government long on climate rhetoric but short on action, and hampered by Johnson’s own character. “[Success at Cop26] requires leadership, diplomacy and coalition-building. But the prime minister’s reputation on the global stage is not good – he is known for rule-breaking, rather than coalition-building,” he said.

Starmer said he was moved to intervene as he began a two-day visit to Glasgow, to meet members of a local youth forum and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, to discuss young people’s perspectives on the climate crisis and Labour’s plans for green investment. “Sitting by and watching this government fail to lead would be the worst possible thing Labour could do. If we can goad them into stronger leadership that would be better for Britain and the planet.”

“He [Johnson] should be leading from the front,” said Starmer.

He said Labour – like US president Joe Biden – would have more credible and serious ambition, with a £30bn investment in a green recovery from the pandemic.

Whitehall insiders said the government was working hard behind the scenes on the talks, with Cop president-designate Alok Sharma taking on a punishing travel schedule to key countries. Last week, ministers from more than 50 countries met in London, with some progress on forging relationships among countries that have been unable to meet in person for more than 18 months, but disappointment on efforts to make a bold commitment to phase out coal.

Some major countries – including China and India – have also yet to produce plans for their emissions cuts to 2030, a crucial goal for Cop26.

Some participants in the talks praised the government for staying firm on its target of holding global heating to 1.5C, and said there was still time to craft a deal that would set the world on a path to meeting the 2015 Paris agreement, and staving off the worst ravages of climate breakdown.

Early next week, amid recent extreme weather around the world, the stakes for Cop26 will be raised higher still, when scientists produce a long-expected landmark report on the climate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is expected on Monday 9 August to deliver the starkest warning yet that the world is heading for widespread devastation unless emissions are brought down sharply in the next decade.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×