At the G20 summit in Rio‚ Sir Keir Starmer defended UKʼs eco-friendly direction despite Donald Trumpʼs upcoming return to power. The British PM (speaking from Brazil) insisted that his countrys green targets would stay on-track: even as US plans major environmental policy roll-backs
No‚ I dont think so. In addition to this being an obligation‚ it is also the single biggest set of opportunities that we have as a country to get ahead on the economy
The meeting marks Starmerʼs final face-to-face talk with Joe Biden before new US leadership takes over. The president-elect already picked a pro-fracking boss as energy chief and plans to boost oil-and-gas output; while working with Javier Milei of Argentina to block new G20 climate deals
The British leader pointed to green-tech as a key economic driver - highlighting plans for UK-made wind turbines. While Britain makes up less than 1% of world emissions (compared to USʼs 12.6%)‚ Starmer sees eco-friendly manufacturing as a game-changer for British jobs
Last weeks COP summit in Azerbaijan brought fresh questions about Starmerʼs approach. His 470-person delegationʼs long-distance trip faced push-back‚ with ex-minister Graham Stringer noting:
Its a complete waste of money. There are more private jets and large jets going to Baku than anywhere else at the moment