“On Thursday November 10, Downing Street had said that Mr Sunak would not attend [à la COP27] due to ‘pressing UK commitments’. But on Monday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman assured that the decision was ‘under study’”summarizes the BBC.
If Rishi Sunak finally flies to Egypt, to find Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden there, it will be “the first big backpedal” of his mandate, one week after taking office, observes The Independent.
Downing Street had cited the need for Rishi Sunak to focus on preparing the budget, which is due on November 17. But the pretext did not convince anyone, neither in the opposition, nor among the NGOs, nor even in the ranks of the conservative party. An aggravating factor, for the Prime Minister’s critics: COP26 was held in Glasgow and as such, the United Kingdom is still chairing the event until the start of COP27.
Political cost
Alok Sharma, conservative parliamentarian and president of COP26, did not mince words on Sunday in an interview with Sunday Timessaying to himself “very disappointed” that Mr. Sunak does not make the trip to Sharm El-Sheikh, and warning him against a possible sanction from the British in the next elections.
“If you look at what’s happened in the Australian election over the last few months, one of the reasons the Conservatives lost is because people felt like they weren’t taking the issue [du changement climatique] seriously enough”he assures.
King Charles III himself, “passionate activist for environmental causes”stirred the knife in the wound, announcing this weekend that he would meet on Friday “some 200 business leaders, policy makers and NGOs to mark the end of the UK Presidency of COP26”reports SkyNews.
The news channel recalls that the king had expressed his wish to attend COP27, but that the government of ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss had respectfully asked him to abstain – a position confirmed by the news. administration.
Boris Johnson in ambush
The potential political cost, the damaged image of the United Kingdom and the frustration of Buckingham Palace are perhaps not the only reasons which pushed the Prime Minister to begin a cautious reversal: this weekend, The Observer revealed that former Downing Street tenant Boris Johnson was planning to attend COP27 “to show solidarity in the battle against the climate crisis”.
A prospect that must have given the new Prime Minister cold sweats, while the presence of Boris Johnson in Egypt “would be seen as both an implicit criticism of Sunak’s absence, and an attempt to boost his image”just a week after giving up seeking a new term as Prime Minister, explains the left-wing daily.
Pour The Guardianthere is “a lesson to be learned” COP27 pace for “the inexperienced” Rishi Sunak : “Priorizing the pressing issues of the moment (in this case the budget) at the expense of the more distant and existential ones of tomorrow (the prospect of a planet turned into a furnace) is basically why we are here. arrived there. Sometimes the future has to trump the present”.