Keir Starmer will travel to the Amazon rainforest for the UN climate summit next month, Downing Street has confirmed, after weeks of speculation that he would not.
No 10 said on Monday the prime minister would fly to Belém, in Brazil, for what experts say will be the most significant Cop meeting since Paris in 2015.
Aides had advised Starmer, who has previously been criticised for spending so much time out of the country, not to attend the summit.
However, his spokesperson said on Monday: “The prime minister will attend the Cop30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, next month, because net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century, one that has the potential to reignite our industrial heartlands, create good jobs for the future, and lower bills in the long term.
“That’s why we’re restoring the UK as a global leader on climate action and green growth. And you can expect to see the PM driving forward that agenda at the summit next month. The UK is a global leader on climate action and tackling climate change will remain an urgent UK and global priority.”
The government has been divided over how loudly to champion its green agenda given concerns about rising energy bills and increasingly unified opposition from the Conservatives and Reform UK to net zero targets.
Starmer attended last year’s Cop in Azerbaijan, and in 2023 he criticised Rishi Sunak from opposition when the then prime minister failed to travel to Dubai for Cop28.
Since Labour came to power it has taken a number of green decisions, including reversing a de facto ban on onshore wind and setting up a new investment organisation to put money into clean energy.
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The Financial Times reported last month that Starmer’s aides were battling over whether the prime minister should attend Cop30.
Some reportedly argued that “Reform [UK] voters don’t think climate is important and the Mail and Sun [newspapers] complain that Starmer has spent a record number of days overseas”.
Labour is under pressure not only from Reform but also from the Green party, which is rising in support and membership since Zack Polanski took over as leader. Polanski warned that it would be a “huge abdication of responsibility” if the prime minister did not travel to Brazil.
Starmer’s parliamentary colleagues were also urging him to attend the summit. Polly Billington, the MP for East Thanet, told the Guardian last month: “I know the difference that leaders make when they attend. It focuses the minds of the negotiators on getting the best possible deal – and that is required, when we see the fragility of the consensus on acting on climate change.”
