Rising energy prices ‘a reason to act faster’ on climate change, says Sunak

Jump to contentSign up to our newslettersSubscribeNewsSportsVoicesCultureLifestyleTravelPremiumCloseUN secretary Guterres says we are ‘losing the fight of our lives’ in Cop27 opening speechBritish prime minister Rishi Sunak said that climate and energy security went ‘hand in hand’ and world leaders must act quickly to address the impacts of climate change.’Climate security goes hand in hand with energy security,’ Mr Sunak told a gathering at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.’Putin’s abhorrent war in Ukraine, and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change. They are a reason to act faster.’It comes after former US vice president Al Gore has urged governments to ‘stop subsidising the culture of death’ as he urged greater investment in renewables.’We continue to use the thin blue shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet as an open sewer’, spilling global warming pollution into the sky where it heats up the world, the climate activist told the Cop27 opening ceremony, adding: ‘It is a choice to continue this pattern of destructive behaviour.’UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres also took a fatalistic tone, telling delegates on Monday that the world was on the ‘highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.’1667885619French president Emmanuel Macron yesterday urged the US, China and other non-European first-world nations to pay their fair share to poorer countries dealing with the impacts of the climate crisis.’We need the United States and China to step up’ on emission cuts and financial aid, Mr Macron told French and African climate campaigners on the sidelines of the Cop27 climate summit, according to AFP.’Europeans are paying,’ he said, adding: ‘We are the only ones paying.’Pressure must be put on rich non-European countries, telling them, ‘you have to pay your fair share’.’Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 November 2022 05:331667883263British prime minister Rishi Sunak is reportedly going to announce a natural gas deal with the US after the Cop27 climate summit.Britain hopes the United States will promise about 10 billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over the coming year, according to a report by The Telegraph.The discussions between the two countries are in their final stages and an announcement is expected within a fortnight.’However, it was unclear if the exact amount of gas to be sold by the US would be mentioned when the deal is publicised.The US earlier this year agreed to supply 15 billion cubic metres of LNG to the EU to help the bloc cope with the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 November 2022 04:541667881851As world leaders descend on Sharm el-Sheikh for Cop27, Egyptian activists are divided as to whether holding the summit under what they say is one of the most repressive governments in the country’s history amounts to an offence or an opportunity.’Egypt is enmeshed in a full-scale human rights crisis,’ said Hossam Bahgat, a prominent Egyptian human rights activist who says he has been banned from leaving the country since 2016 and has had his assets frozen.’Our current government has one of the worst records of human rights around the world.’Rights groups say tens of thousands of government critics including journalists, human rights defenders and activists have been imprisoned under Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who was elected into office in 2014 after a military coup.’Egypt is enmeshed in a full-scale human rights crisis,’ says prominent human rights activistAlisha Rahaman Sarkar8 November 2022 04:301667880339British prime minister Rishi Sunak was abruptly rushed off stage at a Cop27 event yesterday, leaving members of the audience baffled.Mr Sunak was sharing the stage with other world leaders when his aides interrupted him, prompting him to leave the event.There has been no official statement issued by 10 Downing Street to explain the prime minister’s unplanned exit.Although it has been speculated that Mr Sunak left the event for last-minute preparations for the keynote speech he was due to make later in the afternoon.Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 November 2022 04:051667880015The investments of 125 of the world’s richest billionaires emit an annual average of three million tonnes of Cop27 each year, according to Oxfam.The annual emissions are more than a million times the average for someone in the bottom 90 per cent of humanity, the report titled ‘Carbon Billionaires’ said.The world’s richest have a collective $2.4trillion stake in 183 companies and 125 billionaires cumulatively fund 393 million tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) per year, which according to the report is equal to the annual carbon emissions of France.The report added that each of these billionaires would have to circumnavigate the world almost 16 million times in a private jet to create the same emissions.Danny Sriskandarajah, Oxfam GB chief executive, said: ‘It is people in low-income countries who’ve done the least to cause it who are suffering the most – as we are seeing with the devastating drought in East Africa and the catastrophic floods in Pakistan.’We need governments to tackle this urgently by publishing emission figures for the richest people, regulating investors and corporates to slash carbon emissions and taxing wealth and polluting investments.’… these billionaire investors at the top of the corporate pyramid have huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped accountability for too long.’Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 November 2022 04:001667879427Over two dozen countries including the UK have formed a partnership committed to halting and reversing forest loss this decade as part of the climate fight.Speaking at the Cop27 talks in Egypt, Rishi Sunak said protecting forests was ‘one of the best ways of getting us back on track’ to limit warming to 1.5C – the threshold beyond which the worst impacts of climate change will be felt.He said the launch of a new partnership to tackle deforestation at Cop27 marked a ‘moment of great hope for the world’s forests’.The UK has announced £90m for conservation in the Congo Basin in Africa. Britain is also pledging a further £65m for funding to support indigenous people and local communities at the heart of forest protection.Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 November 2022 03:501667876400The first full day of the year’s most important summit on climate change, known as COP27, got underway on Monday with urgent calls by leaders to slash greenhouse gas emissions as the planet warms and severe weather events become more frequent and destructive.Scores of presidents, along with thousands of diplomats, climate negotiators, business leaders, activists and journalists descended on the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh to take part in discussions and negotiations slated to go through Nov. 18.’Climate change will never stop without our intervention,’ said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, opening the day’s session. ‘Our time here is limited and we must use every second that we have.”Reparations to poor countries suffering the impacts of climate change and calls to drastically slash greenhouse emissions are two of the biggest storylines the first day of the U.N. climate summit, known as COP27Joe Middleton8 November 2022 03:001667872800Arab states taking ‘steps in right direction’ to tackle climate change, says Egyptian presidentJoe Middleton8 November 2022 02:001667865705Rishi Sunak has dealt a blow to the developing countries hardest-hit by climate change by shunning appeals for the UK to contribute towards reparations for the natural disasters caused by hundreds of years of industrial pollution.Thirty-year-old demands for a fund to pay for the permanent loss and damage caused by extreme weather were discussed for the first time on the floor of the Cop27 climate change conference in Egypt, with calls for the UK and other rich nations to join Belgium, Denmark and Scotland in committing cash.But the prime minister made no reference to the topic in his five-minute speech in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, instead recommitting to a 2020 pledge of £11.6bn for climate funding over five years and tripling to £1.5bn the UK’s contribution towards measures to boost resilience against future disasters.’Highway to climate hell’: UN chief warns world losing battle against warming Joe Middleton8 November 2022 00:011667863595UN secretary Guterres says we are ‘losing the fight of our lives’ in Cop27 opening speechJoe Middleton7 November 2022 23:26Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inRegistration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inCop27Rishi SunakAntonio GuterresUNAl GoreEgyptUkrainePlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in