Sir Keir Starmer’s mind has remained unchanged on the need for climate action despite attacks on the green agenda by the Tories and Reform. The Prime Minister is preparing to travel to Brazil for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Answering their questions alongside Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Sir Keir acknowledged that Cop30 will be a “challenge” because of sluggish global progress on cutting emissions and the deepening geopolitical divide over climate action.
He said: “I’ve thought climate change has been our biggest challenge as a species for a very long number of years now,” he said.
“I haven’t changed my mind because some other people have changed their minds.
“It’s very important we go and we show that leadership. So that’s what we’ll be going for.”
His comments come amid the splintering of consensus on climate action both in the UK and globally, as well as growing concerns about the effectiveness of the multilateral process.
Labour came into Government pledging to remove almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity supply by 2030, as part of efforts to secure energy supplies, curb bills, boost investment and tackle climate change.
But the agenda has faced significant pushback from the Conservatives and Reform UK, who have pledged to ditch “expensive” net zero policies and repeal climate legislation.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump vowed to “unleash” oil and gas drilling as he pulled the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter out of the 2015 UN Paris Agreement to limit dangerous global warming.
Claire Coutinho MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, said: “Countries aren’t persuaded by Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband flying halfway around the world to give them moral lectures – they are persuaded by prosperity. Ed Miliband’s mad energy policies are locking Britain into sky-high energy bills for decades and destroying economic growth. He is making us a warning, not an example, to the rest of the world.
“Our cheap power plan would cut everyone’s electricity bills by 20% instantly. Think how much easier that would make it for people to get electric cars and home heating, rather than Ed Miliband’s bans and taxes, which will hit struggling families in their pockets.”
Sir Keir faced backlash in September after it was reported that he was considering not attending the COP30 leaders’ summit to focus on domestic matters as Reform UK surged in the polls.
Downing Street was also later forced to deny he was prepared to miss the 2030 target to keep energy bills down.