黑洞社区

Industry leaders have called on Rishi Sunak to reverse his previous decision not to attend this year鈥檚 United Nations COP climate summit.

The prime minister is now reported to be considering flying to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, next week to attend the conference after saying on Thursday that he would not go due to 鈥渙ther pressing domestic commitments including preparations for the autumn budget鈥�.

The decision was criticised by former cabinet minister Alok Sharma, who is the UK鈥檚 COP26 president, and because the UK is the current holder of the COP presidency having hosted the summit in Glasgow last year.

Construction Industry Council chief executive Graham Watts said it would 鈥渟end the right policy signals鈥� if Sunak was present at the summit.

鈥淭he political problem with the climate change crisis is that it is always easy to prioritise more pressing concerns, such as the current cost of living emergency,鈥� he said.

鈥淔rom being the host of COP26 it seems that the UK is sidelining COP27 and if that is the case it would be a dreadful example of short-sightedness.鈥�

Federation of Master Builders chief executive Brian Berry, who has been a longstanding campaigner for a national retrofit strategy to increase the energy efficiency of homes, said 鈥渙f course鈥� the prime minister should be going to the conference.

鈥淣ot doing so sends a signal, abroad and at home, that the UK isn鈥檛 willing to show leadership in addressing the climate emergency or in realising the growth opportunities from backing net zero initiatives such as a national retrofit strategy.

鈥淥ver the next decade, warmer homes have the potential to create 500,000 jobs, grow the economy by 拢308bn, slash bills and increase energy security,鈥� Berry added.

UK Green 黑洞社区 Council director of communications, policy and places Simon McWhirter said the government鈥檚 commitment to its net zero targets 鈥渕ust remain consistent鈥� even in the face of economic challenges such as inflation and rising interest rates.

鈥淢any of the urgent priorities that Rishi Sunak must deal with at home - such as tackling energy security, growing green sectors and combating climate change - all need international negotiation and collaboration. Attending COP27 should therefore be non-negotiable for our Prime Minister,鈥� he said.

鈥淔or industry, COP27 is an opportunity to boldly present the collaborative business force behind the sustainable built environment movement in the UK, showing government that we remain committed and champion the growth opportunities which net zero can deliver.鈥�

And London Eye architect Julia Barfield, one of the co-founders of climate campaign group Architects Declare, said Sunak鈥檚 initial announcement that he was not expected to attend the summit was a 鈥渉uge faux pas鈥�.

鈥淚 think it was a huge foreign policy failure and ovbiously now he鈥檚 realising that it was鈥�it shows that he doesn鈥檛 have climate as a priority and it should be his first priority.鈥�

Barfield added that Sunak鈥檚 change of heart, which has followed reports that his predecessor Boris Johnson is considering attending, 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 bode well鈥�.

鈥淚f he corrects it, then so much the better but it鈥檚 still worrying that he鈥檚 only doing it under pressure,鈥� she said.

The conference will run from 6 to 18 November and is expected to focus on reducing emissions, helping countries prepare for and deal with climate change, and securing technical support for developing countries.

Last year鈥檚 summit in Glasgow secured a major agreement on accelerating the phase out of fossil fuel subsidies and phasing down the use of coal.