No.10 concern as Boris Johnson 'planning to attend Cop27' - despite PM Rishi Sunak not going

29 October 2022, 23:16 | Updated: 30 October 2022, 06:55

Boris Johnson has sparked concern by planning to take part in the Cop27 global climate summit, according to reports - despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak snubbing the event.

The former PM, who stepped down in July after the partygate scandal, wants to attend the event in Egypt next month to show how seriously he takes the climate crisis, the Guardian reported.

It comes after Mr Sunak said he would not be flying out to Sharm-El-Sheikh, to free up time to concentrate on the domestic crisis his government is battling in the UK.

Mr Johnson's attendance at Cop27, which lasts from November 6-18, would be controversial, because it would suggest an implicit criticism of Sunak for not going.

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It comes just a week after Mr Johnson pulled out of a sensational attempt to become Prime Minister again less than four months after stepping down.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “The government is absolutely committed to supporting Cop27 and leading international action to tackle climate change and protect nature.

“The UK will be fully represented by senior ministers, including the foreign, business and environment secretaries, as well as Cop president Alok Sharma. They will be working to ensure that countries continue to make progress on the groundbreaking commitments made at Cop26 in Glasgow.”

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Mr Sunak has been criticised for his decision not to go to the event, with Labour branding it a "massive failure of climate leadership" and Rebecca Newsom, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, saying it shows he does not take the crisis "seriously enough"

Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary of state for the environment and net zero, said: “Rishi Sunak is absent when it comes to the climate crisis. If even the former prime minister is attending Cop27, it is just further evidence of his colossal failure of leadership.

“The prime minister’s decision to pull out of Cop27 shows he doesn’t care about the greatest long-term threat our country faces.“The government is way off track from its climate targets, and has a deeply unambitious net zero agenda, with plans to cut the cheapest, cleanest forms of power like onshore wind.

“A Labour government would lead at home and abroad, putting climate at the heart of our agenda for a fairer, greener future with lower bills and energy independence for the UK through our plans for clean power by 2030 and GB Energy to make us a clean energy superpower.”

Speaking to journalists during a visit to a south London hospital on Friday, Mr Sunak said: "The leadership that we have shown on the climate is unmatched...

"It's important to me that, as Prime Minister, we leave behind an environment that is better for our children and grandchildren. I'm very passionate about that. I'm very personally committed to it.

"I just think, at the moment, it's right that I'm also focusing on the depressing domestic challenges we have with the economy.

"I think that's what people watching would reasonably expect me to be doing as well."

The news comes after King Charles - who has been an outspoken advocate of action to tackle climate change - has also said he will not go to Cop27, with Downing Street arguing it is not the "right occasion" for the trip.