UK Prime Minister Sunak Changes Mind, Will Attend COP27... Influenced by Rival Johnson's Participation?

Last Month, Declared Intent to Skip Due to "Urgent Domestic Issues"
Criticism Also Arises: "Only Going After Being Surprised by Former PM Johnson's Attendance"

Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Sung-wook] UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has changed his mind and decided to attend the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27). The Prime Minister's Office had announced on the 27th of last month (local time) that Prime Minister Sunak would not attend the conference.

On the 2nd, Prime Minister Sunak announced via Twitter that he would attend the COP27 summit, held from the 6th to the 18th in Egypt. COP is the highest decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, where heads of state from member countries gather to discuss the climate crisis. The UK was the host country of COP26 held in Glasgow last year.

On the same day, Prime Minister Sunak stated, "We cannot prosper in the long term without action on climate change, and energy security cannot be ensured without investment in renewable energy," adding that his attendance was to "carry forward the legacy of Glasgow in building a safe and sustainable future." Alok Sharma, the COP26 president who was scheduled to attend as the UK representative, expressed his pleasure at Sunak's change of decision.

Positive reactions were also detected within the Conservative Party regarding this decision. Former Energy Minister Chris Skidmore said, "It is very good news that Prime Minister Sunak will continue to champion the UK's climate leadership and the COP legacy alongside Alok Sharma."

Previously, Prime Minister Sunak had expressed his intention not to attend the conference, citing "urgent domestic issues" such as the mid-term fiscal plan announcement scheduled for the 17th. It was also revealed that the Prime Minister's Office opposed the attendance of the UK's new King Charles III, who had spoken at COP26, at COP27. Because of this, responses from Egypt, the host country this year, as well as the main opposition Labour Party and civic groups, criticized the UK government for being lukewarm in responding to the climate crisis.

In particular, Egypt publicly expressed disappointment. In a statement on the 3rd of last month, the Egyptian government said, "King Charles III's attendance at the conference would have added great value to the visibility of climate action at a critical time," and "We hope this does not signify a retreat by the UK in the global climate agenda since hosting COP26."

Some have evaluated that a decisive reason for Prime Minister Sunak's attendance was the participation of his rival, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at COP27. Johnson, who led climate crisis discussions as prime minister during COP26, stated in a TV interview the day before, "I am attending COP27 upon Egypt's invitation," and "We will show solidarity in fighting the climate crisis."

Vera Hobhouse, the UK Liberal Democrats' climate change spokesperson, criticized, "Prime Minister Sunak has shown that climate change is not a priority for him," adding, "He is only going after being embarrassed by former Prime Minister Johnson's attendance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.