Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Flip flop: UK PM Rishi Sunak will now attend COP27, reversing decision to skip

Flip flop: UK PM Rishi Sunak will now attend COP27, reversing decision to skip

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will attend the COP27 summit in Egypt next week, he said on Wednesday, reversing a much-criticised decision to skip the annual climate gathering to work on pressing economic issues at home.
The Prime Minister's spokesman previously said participation in the climate talks would depend on progress on a domestic budget statement due on Nov. 17.

"There is no long-term prosperity without action on climate change. There is no energy security without investing in renewables," Sunak wrote on Twitter.

He said he was attending the summit to "deliver on Glasgow's legacy of building a secure and sustainable future" - a reference to an agreement at last year's event that Britain hosted. The deal was meant to keep alive the world's chance of averting the worst impacts of global warming.

Climate activists, opposition politicians and even some within his own party criticised Sunak after his office said last week he was not expected to attend the 27th session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

"The prime minister has been shamed into going to COP27 by the torrent of disbelief that he would fail to turn up," the opposition Labour Party's climate policy spokesperson Ed Miliband said. "He is going to avoid embarrassment not to provide leadership."

Britain's COP26 president Alok Sharma, who had been critical of Sunak's initial decision, said he was delighted the prime minister would attend the conference.

Meanwhile, former British prime minister Boris Johnson, who hosted world leaders at last year's COP26 in Glasgow, said he would attend COP27. "I was invited by the Egyptians," he told Sky News in an interview on Tuesday. "I want to talk a little bit about how I see things and how we see things in the UK."

Separately Britain, late on Tuesday said it would delay until Dec. 8 a decision on a new coal mine in Cumbria, northern England, meaning news on whether the project will go ahead will not emerge until after the climate talks have finished.

Britain has a climate target to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and the government’s independent climate advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), have said this target would be more difficult if the mine goes ahead.

"The run up to next week’s climate summit was an ideal opportunity for the government to rebuild its battered green credentials by rejecting this damaging and unnecessary coal mine. It’s a shame they didn’t seize it," Friends of the Earth (FoE) energy campaigner Tony Bosworth said.

The Cumbria mine is being developed by privately owned West Cumbria Mining, which has said the project to extract coking coal for the steel industry would create around 500 jobs.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×