Starmer affirms UK commitment to climate action ahead of Cop30 summit
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed his commitment to climate action ahead of his trip to Brazil for the UN COP30 summit.
Speaking to sixth form students in Downing Street on Monday, Starmer, joined by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, reiterated the government’s commitment to clean energy targets and the UK’s role as a global climate leader.
He acknowledged that COP30 would pose a “challenge” due to slow progress worldwide on reducing emissions and increasing geopolitical rifts surrounding climate initiatives.
“I think climate change has been our biggest challenge as a species for many, many years,” he said.
“I didn’t change my mind just because others changed their minds.
“It’s very important that we go and show that leadership. So we’re going to go for it.”
Asked how major countries have failed to adhere to previous international agreements and what gives him confidence that COP30 will be successful, Sir Keir said: “It’s a challenge. There’s no doubt about that.”
“You’re trying to get many countries to behave in a similar way. It’s not easy. They all have their own political pressures in their own countries.
“But I really believe it’s really important to just come together and commit, go back, look at the commitments we’ve made in the past, and have the discussion.
“And I think one of the main reasons for leaving is to continue to advocate for that.”
His comments come as the consensus on climate action, both in the UK and globally, is splintering and concerns are growing about the effectiveness of the multilateral process.
Labor came into Government promising to remove almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity supply by 2030, as part of efforts to secure energy supplies, cut bills, boost investment and tackle climate change.
But the agenda has faced serious pushback from the Conservatives and Reform UK, who have vowed to abandon “expensive” net zero policies and repeal climate legislation.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has vowed to “deregulate” oil and gas drilling while withdrawing the world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases from the 2015 UN Paris Agreement in a bid to limit dangerous global warming.
Speaking to a group of schoolchildren on Monday, Sir Keir said the UK delegation to COP30 would have young people “first and foremost in our minds” as it seeks to gauge young people’s opinions ahead of the summit.
He said: “As we go there, I am conscious that young people are really important to our leadership and the messages we need to put out in Polis because the fight to protect our climate and our planet is the same for all of us.
“But it’s especially important for you because you have to live with the consequences of the decisions we make or don’t make, the actions we take or don’t take.”
The Prime Minister also argued that the green transition is “more than a necessity” but brings “huge opportunities for us”.
“Our move towards renewable energy, for example, is a good thing for our planet, but it’s also a really good thing for the jobs of the future and the sustainable way we want to grow our economy,” he said.
In September, Sir Keir faced backlash after it was reported that he was considering not attending the COP30 leaders’ summit to focus on domestic issues amid rising polls in Reform UK.
Downing Street was later also forced to deny that it was set to miss its 2030 target to keep energy bills low.
Earlier, the Energy Minister had heard about the apathy and despair felt by some young people about taking action on climate change and the future more generally.
Mr Miliband told the group of young people: “While it is true that we are not doing enough, it is not true to say that the world is not acting.”
He acknowledged that the climate crisis was “really scary” but said that because of his sense of pessimism, it was “pretty important to point out the progress we’ve made”.
“I think part of our mission is to project positivity,” he said.
The Minister of Energy also discussed career opportunities in transition industries with students from schools across the country.
He highlighted the Government’s recently announced national plan to train and recruit workers to close the clean energy skills gap, with the promise of more than 400,000 extra green jobs by 2030 and the establishment of technical excellence colleges.
Asked whether young people could trust the Government to deliver on its promises, the Energy Minister said: “Judge us by the results. That’s what you should judge us by.”
“What we’ve been trying to do over the last 16 months is deliver what we promised to do as quickly as possible,” he added, citing plans for solar, offshore wind and nuclear power, as well as lifting the de facto onshore wind ban.
“We’re driving as fast as possible.”
