Sir Keir Starmer will admit the “consensus is gone” on climate change but insist Britain is “all in” on net zero in a speech to the UN Cop30 summit.
The Prime Minister will staunchly defend his Government’s clean energy agenda on economic grounds as he concedes that cross-party unity on “science that is unequivocal” has splintered both in Britain and globally.
Addressing the climate change conference in Belem, the city gateway to the Brazilian Amazon basin, Sir Keir is expected to say: “Ten years ago, the world came together in Paris… united in our determination to tackle the climate crisis.
“A consensus based on science that is unequivocal.
“And this unity was not just international – it was there within most of our countries too.
“There was cross-party consensus in the UK.
“The only question was how fast we could go.
“Today however, sadly that consensus is gone.”
Sir Keir will challenge sceptics calling for a slowdown on climate action, telling the summit: “Can energy security wait too?
“Can billpayers wait? Can we win the race for green jobs and investment by going slow?
“Of course not.”
The Prime Minister will describe green policies as a “win-win” despite pressure from Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticised Britain’s net zero agenda and who, along with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, will not attend the summit.
“This is a win-win,” he is expected to say.
“The greater our collective ambition, the more progress we make in tackling the climate crisis, and the greater the opportunities we create.
“Just for UK businesses… providing goods and services for the global net-zero transition could be worth £1 trillion by 2030.”
He will add: “So look – my message here is that the UK is all in.
“Because we know, you don’t protect jobs and communities by sticking with the status quo, you don’t meet a challenge like climate change by standing still.
“You do it by embracing change, embracing the opportunities, and doing so together.”
Labour came into Government pledging to remove almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity supply by 2030, as part of efforts to secure energy supplies, curb bills, boost investment and tackle climate change.
But the agenda has faced significant pushback from the Conservatives and Reform UK, who have pledged to ditch what they say are “expensive” net zero policies and repeal climate legislation.
Meanwhile, the US President has vowed to “unleash” oil and gas drilling as he pulled the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter out of the 2015 UN Paris Agreement to limit global warming.
The Prime Minister is travelling to Belem on Thursday along with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and the Prince of Wales on Thursday, having attended William’s Earthshot Prize ceremony last night.
He is expected to have more than one bilateral meeting with counterparts, though it was unclear on Thursday morning who he would come face to face with as teams seek to carve out time during the one-day visit.
Ahead of his visit, the Prime Minister hailed a series of new clean power investments deals that Downing Street estimates will support around 600 jobs.
Under agreements announced on Thursday:
– The Port of East Anglia will receive £15 million as part of a wider £28 million upgrade to build a new operations centre, with Scottish Power supporting the East Anglia Two wind farm in the North Sea
– Carrington in Greater Manchester will host one of the UK’s largest battery sites, with Statera Energy confirming a final investment decision on a 680MW storage system
– Jera Nex bp and EnBW have committee £100 million to Belfast Harbour to support the delivery of two offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea, which the Government estimates could create more than 300 jobs.
However, a decision not to invest in a Brazilian-led rainforest fund threatened to overshadow Sir Keir’s efforts to show UK leadership on climate action.
The Government has decided not to commit public money to the Tropical Forest Forever Fund, which Cop30 host nation Brazil wants to launch at the summit.
The UK played a key role in establishing the scheme, which would offer financial backing to countries for preserving tropical biomes.
But the Treasury reportedly questioned the potential cost as Chancellor Rachel Reeves grapples with balancing the books ahead of the Budget.
Downing Street said on Wednesday the Government would continue to support the initiative and explore ways to “bring the full weight of the UK private finances sector” behind the scheme.
Sir Keir’s planned trip to Brazil meant he avoided a Commons grilling on Wednesday, when it emerged that two prisoners had been mistakenly freed from the same jail in the space of one week.
But the Prime Minister is likely to face questions about the blunder and its ensuing fallout when he faces broadcasters in Belem later on Thursday.
