The decision for Rishi Sunak to skip the crucial climate summit in Egypt next week is “under review”,
The prime minister’s official spokesperson told reporters on Monday that a call will be made depending on how much progress the new prime minister makes on the de facto budget slated to take place on 17 November.
“The prime minister is focused on pressing domestic issues, most significantly preparing for the autumn statement, so any attendance at Cop would depend on progress on preparation for that fiscal event, and that work is ongoing,” he said.
The potential U-Turn comes after Mr Sunak was accused of undermining the UK’s climate leadership by deciding not to attend the climate summit that begins in the Egyptian resort town Sharm El Sheikh on Sunday. The UK will hand over the Cop presidency to Egypt at the summit after its year of global leadership on climate.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said the PM “fully recognises the importance of the Cop summit and is fully committed to addressing climate change.”
Asked if the Prime Minister now wants to attend if sufficient progress is made on domestic matters, the spokesman said the prime minister had set out that the public would want him to focus on domestic issues, “particularly on restoring fiscal credibility and delivering on a budget that works for the British people.”
“There is substantial progress being made on that, and so we are keeping the position on Cop under review at the moment,” he added.
A decision for Mr Sunak to attend the conference would be widely welcomed by climate activists and other world leaders but would also be the first big U-turn of his premiership.
Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Tony Bosworth said if Mr Sunak wanted to be taken seriously on climate change he should attend the talks.
Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow secretary of state for climate change, said a “dithering” prime minister who cannot decide whether to attend a major environmental summit cannot provide the leadership the country needs.
“What’s clear now is that if he turns up, it won’t be to provide leadership but to avoid embarrassment,” he said.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has said many world leaders are too busy to go to the summit because they have their own problems at home.
“With that mindset, we’re not going to be able to solve many of the problems that we face,” she told an event in London on Sunday.
American President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are among the world leaders expected to attend the summit. While on Sunday it was reported that former prime minister Boris Johnson is also planning to attend the conference, in a move that could cause embarrassment for the new prime minister.
Mr Johnson’s father Stanley, a prominent environmentalist, said he did not know whether his son intended to attend the summit in Egypt but said it would be a good thing if he did.
“I’m hoping he will go, because it attracts attention to the issues,” Mr Johnson Sr told The Independent. “Even reports that he was thinking of going brought a lot of publicity and attention to COP27.
“There is a strong message which someone like Boris needs to send out, about how we as a country are going to stick to our commitments on climate and biodiversity,” he said. “I totally, totally believe Mr Sunak should be there too.”
The latest briefing on the matter comes after a minister in Mr Sunak’s government said on Monday that the prime minister was considering attending the Cop27 summit after all.
Mark Spencer, the farming minister, suggested on Sky News on Monday morning that Mr Sunak will attend the summit “if he has the time,” adding that: “He’ll make that call and I’m sure it’ll be the right one.”
It also comes as the government’s top climate adviser warned that Britain’s climate leadership had fallen short on multiple fronts as the UK’s Cop presidency comes to an end.
Lord Deben, the chair of the independent Climate Change Committee, said Britain’s own bid to tackle emissions was “off track”, while cuts to foreign aid risked undermining its leadership on the top priority for this year’s summit.
The Press Association contributed to this report
