Burnham commits to 2050 net zero target and working with others to reach theirs

Andy Burnham has said “Britain is back and ready to play its full part” in tackling climate change in a “new era” of leadership over the next decade as he addressed the UN Cop31 summit in Turkey.

Amid accusations that his Government is deprioritising the green agenda, the Prime Minister recommitted to hitting its 2050 net zero target and to working with other countries to reach theirs.

Attending the annual climate gathering for the first time as Prime Minister on Thursday, he warned that the “climate crisis is upon all of us now” after a “not normal” summer of extreme heat, wildfires and drought.

“The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it is upon us all now, devastating lives and livelihoods everywhere,” he said.

“Meanwhile, two wars across two continents have sent fuel prices and gas bills soaring for families and businesses across the world. The common thread running through all of this: our dependence on fossil fuels.

“The message I carry here at my first Cop as UK Prime Minister is this: we’re committed to meeting our 2050 net zero target, and committed to working with all of our partners to reach theirs.”

Mr Burnham is expected to be the only G7 leader to address the summit in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, with US President Donald Trump declining to send a delegation for the second year running.

He was the first speaker at the conference on Thursday, addressing a half-empty plenary hall at the start of the session with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and London Mayor Lord Sadiq Khan in the audience.

“Britain will live up to its commitments. We will help our friends as they live up to theirs. Britain is back and ready to play its full part,” Mr Burnham said.

As the world will overshoot 1.5C warming above pre-industrial levels this century – a central target of the Paris Agreement – “climate leadership and action have become more urgent”, the Labour leader said.

“Britain will answer the call. Climate is a national security issue.”

As part of these efforts, Dame Madeleine Alessandri, former chairwoman of the Joint Intelligence Committee which provides ministers with national security assessments, has been appointed special representative for climate security, the Prime Minister said.

Andy Burnham told the conference that Britain is ready ‘to play its full part’ (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

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Calling on industry leaders to “play their part” to help people on all incomes make the green transition, Mr Burnham said: “This crisis can only be solved in partnership. I have pledged a new era of British leadership over the next decade.

“The consensus we once enjoyed on science and climate has gone, and the reality is now the world will reach 1.5 degrees. Climate leadership and action have become more urgent. Britain will answer the call.”

Mr Burnham also endorsed host nation Turkey’s pledge to increase the share of global energy demand met by electricity from 21% to 35% by 2035.

He said electrification “is how we protect families from global fossil fuel shocks”, creates good jobs and “lowers people’s bills”.

The Government will publish a clean electrification road map setting out its plans to build affordable and secure energy systems.

Environmentalists said Mr Burnham’s speech did little to calm concerns about his commitment to the green agenda, which has been thrown into question amid speculation ministers are considering slashing a target for electric vehicle sales and after they approved the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, with a decision on the larger Rosebank oil project looming.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said on X that it was a “speech where the Prime Minister said all the right things on climate but back home he’s doing the opposite”.

The Prime Minister spent just over an hour at the conference venue before leaving for Dublin (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

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“Locking us into new oil & gas, reducing electric vehicles and cutting funds for warmer homes.”

Friends of the Earth chief executive Asad Rehman said: “If this is all the UK has to offer, then the questions piling in about his climate credibility are more than justified.

“Committing to real, grant-based climate finance, rejecting the Rosebank oil field and saying no to a third runway at Heathrow are just some of the ways he can put the UK on track.”

The Prime Minister said he had made good on his promise in the wildfire-hit summer to attend Cop31.

He spent just over an hour at the conference venue to deliver his five-minute speech before jetting to Dublin for a gathering of some 50 European leaders.

Time pressure meant a planned bilateral meeting in the margins of Cop31 with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was called off.

Mr Burnham did have brief informal meetings known as “brush-bys” with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Cop31 president Murat Kurum.

At the European Political Community meeting, he is expected to announce further sanctions against Russia and discuss hybrid threats to European security.

He will hold a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings at the summit, which comes after he reopened the debate about Britain’s relationship with the bloc and ahead of the UK-EU reset summit in Brussels next Friday.