Rishi Sunak has been accused of sending out the wrong signals on tackling the climate emergency as he heads to the Cop28 summit in Dubai after saying his revised net zero targets show he is “not in hock to the ideological zealots”.
The prime minister will allocate about £1.6bn of climate finance during the summit and claim that the UK will exceed its target of spending £11.6bn over the five years to 2026.
But he faces accusations from charities and non-governmental organisations that the UK is on track to meet the target only by changing the way it calculates climate aid – and otherwise would fall far short of the total.
Before the summit, Sunak also chose to emphasise his “pragmatic” approach to tackling the climate crisis, having two months ago decided to water down his net zero targets on phasing out petrol cars and gas boilers.
“The transition to net zero should make us all safer and better off,” he said on Thursday. “It must benefit, not burden, ordinary families. The UK has led the way in taking pragmatic, long-term decisions at home – and at Cop28 we will lead international efforts to protect the world’s forests, turbocharge renewable energy and leverage the full weight of private finance.”
He also claimed that ambitious pledges to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees were enough and “the time for pledges is now over – this is the era for action”.
Sunak said: “I’m not in hock to ideological zealots on this topic. Of course we’re going to get to net zero, of course it’s important, but we can do that in a sensible way that saves people money and doesn’t burden them with extra costs.”
Sunak’s approach was criticised by Keir Starmer, who will also attend the summit.
The Labour leader told investors on Thursday that Sunak’s government was “sending the wrong signals when it comes to net zero”.
He said: “While the Conservatives use it to appease their party and sow political division, my Labour government will harness it in the national interest, to turbo-charge growth”
Sunak’s decision to revise his climate targets was partly aimed at drawing a dividing line with Labour, which has promised to spend £28bn a year on kickstarting a green industrial revolution.
Labour has also said it would strengthen requirements for companies to report on their green measures in an effort to mobilise private finance to support ways to cut emissions.
Starmer is meeting financiers at the summit in Dubai as he seeks to step up his international profile before the general election expected next year, with Sunak also vying for attention on the world stage.
Before the summit, Sunak said the UK was a “world leader when it comes to climate”, claiming the statistics proved it was ahead of other countries on meeting its commitments.
No 10 said the prime minister was announcing £1.6bn of climate finance for projects, of which almost £900m, including £465m for forests, was new funding separate to the £11.6bn spending target for the years 2022 to 2026. The UK is also contributing about £60m to a global loss and damage fund unveiled in Dubai, which ActionAid criticised as a “derisory offer to millions of people facing climate catastrophe”.
The government is already facing claims that it has changed the definition of international climate finance to hit its £11.6bn target. More than 70 UK civil society organisations wrote to Sunak in October to challenge the new definition, with Climate Action Network UK saying “changing the goalposts is not a credible or appropriate way for the UK to meet its international commitments”.
Rich countries have long promised to provide finance – in the form of loans or cash – to help poor countries cut greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of the climate crisis.
However, leaks in the summer showed UK ministers were warned they were massively off track to meet their targets and could do so only by raiding the aid budget. The government insists its change in the definition is “clarification” of how the money is spent, rather than fiddling the figures.
Sunak is expected to attend the opening ceremony at Cop28, which will be addressed by King Charles, as well as events on climate finance, climate adaptation and a new Just Energy Transition Partnership with Vietnam. He will also hold bilateral meetings with world leaders, with Gaza and the wider Middle East on the agenda.
