Rishi Sunak may yet attend the Cop27 climate summit, Downing Street has said, as MPs and charities urged him to reverse his decision not to go to the gathering.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said the situation was “under review” after days of criticism and the revelation – first made in the Observer – that his predecessor Boris Johnson was seeking to go to the UN summit.
A cross-party group of parliamentarians, including several Tories, led by Chris Skidmore, wrote to Sunak on Monday afternoon urging him to go to Egypt.
The RSPB and Friends of the Earth also called on the PM to join world leaders including Emmanuel Macron of France and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, at the summit.
On Friday, Downing Street had said Sunak would not go to Sharm el-Sheikh because of “depressing domestic challenges”.
But this position was changed on Monday when his official spokesperson said: “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.
“The prime minister fully recognises the importance of the Cop summit and is fully committed to addressing climate change.”
Parliament’s cross-party environment group had written to Sunak, calling on him to attend the summit in Egypt.
The group said: “We hope that, as prime minister, you will use your power to support environmental politics which improve the economy whilst enhancing the environment at home and abroad.
“The decisions your government takes will have a noticeable impact on the lives of people across the country, and indeed our entire planet, for generations to come.”
The Conservative MP Alok Sharma, who was president of Cop26, had said he was “disappointed” by Sunak’s decision not to attend the next summit, while the former chancellor George Osborne asked why the prime minister would “trash” the party’s record on the environment.
Earlier on Monday, the environment minister Mark Spencer told broadcasters he would like to see the PM attend – “if he’s got time” – and said the government was taking the climate crisis seriously.
“I think the prime minister has a huge inbox. He’s come into office, he’s got an inbox which is full to the brim. Clearly, he wants to concentrate on the financial statement and that’s what he’s doing,” Spencer told Sky News on Monday.
“But if he’s able to get through … all of that, Cop is very important. It’s very important to the government, it’s important to our future, so we’ll send out senior ministers, but that’s yet to be decided who’s going to go.”
Sunak’s apparent decision not to attend and reports his predecessor in No 10 Liz Truss had advised King Charles to stay away had caused anger and dismay around the world.
Several developing countries have told the Guardian of their disappointment. Belize’s ambassador to the UN, Carlos Fuller, accused No 10 of seemingly “washing their hands of leadership”.
The speaker of the Maldives’ parliament, Mohamed Nasheed, questioned the reason given for Sunak’s apparent non-attendance, saying: “It’s very worrying that the UK thought there was anything more serious than climate change. You can count the pennies but might lose the pounds.”
