UK skips signing leaders' statement on climate action

World leaders are meeting in New York for the UN's Climate Ambition Summit

The UK has not signed up to a statement from a group of countries pushing for faster global action on climate change.

The High Ambition Coalition was backed by 17 world leaders in its call for swifter cuts to carbon emissions.

The UK, a founding member of the group, has been accused of abandoning climate leadership for not signing the statement or speaking at the summit.

A government spokesperson said the UK "remains a world leader" on climate change and delivering net zero.

"We have achieved the fastest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the G7- cutting them by 50% since 1990," the spokesman added.

Despite not signing the statement, the UK "will continue to work with international counterparts" to fight climate change, the spokesman said.

The High Ambition Coalition released the statement on Tuesday, on the eve of a major UN climate summit in New York.

The UK government has alarmed climate groups after the BBC reported Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plans to water down some green policies.

Mr Sunak has since delivered a speech about his plans, which include delaying a ban on the sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.

The government has said that as part of climate obligations, the UK will reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 - meaning the country aims to take out of the atmosphere as many greenhouse gas emissions - such as carbon dioxide - as it puts in.

Mr Sunak said he was confident "we can adopt a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach to meeting net zero that eases the burdens on working people".

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Tina Stege, climate envoy for the High Ambition Coalition, told the BBC she hoped the UK "could support the commitments set out in the statement, which are what we think is required to address the climate crisis ahead of COP".

But she added: "HAC's membership isn't fixed - it evolves as positions strengthen and ambitious leaders come together."

Green experts said the UK's decision not to sign the High Ambition Coalition's statement suggested the UK was stepping back from its climate leadership role.

"Successive British prime ministers from both parties have led international efforts to raise global ambition on climate change, including through these kind of global coalitions, so it's a remarkable shift to see Britain stepping back from that role under Sunak," said Joss Garman, executive director of the European Climate Foundation.

"It will certainly harm Britain's strategic relationships with many parts of the world."

While the UK has signed numerous past statements by the coalition - of which it is a founding member - it has not put its name to the previous four.

But other major emitters - such as China, India and the United States - do not sign these statements, and many of the listed countries have a mixed record on making progress towards their climate goals.

Meanwhile, the UN Climate Ambition Summit is taking place in New York, where leaders or cabinet ministers will announce specific actions that deliver on their commitments to curb emissions.

Mr Sunak has decided not to attend, but he is not the only one, as the world's top two emitters, China and the US are not attending.

The list of speakers at the climate summit did not include the UK, Japan or India.

But the bar for speaking was set high, with the UN chief Antonio Guterres making clear that only leaders who had made concrete plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions would be allowed to address the summit.