Starmer urged to ‘stay strong and not waver’ on climate action to counter Trump

Dozens of green groups are urging Sir Keir Starmer to “stay strong and not waver” on climate leadership following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.

More than 50 climate, development and anti-poverty organisations wrote to the Prime Minister ahead of world leaders gathering at the UN climate conference in Azerbaijan on Monday.

While it is still President Joe Biden’s administration heading to Cop29, the US election results earlier this week are likely to hang heavy over the negotiations.

Mr Trump, who has described climate change as a “hoax”, pledged to pull America out of the 2015 global Paris Agreement, which aims to limit dangerous global warming.

Domestically, he is expected to roll back parts of the Inflation Reduction Act – the signature climate legislation of Mr Biden’s presidency, and has signalled his support for more fossil fuel extraction.

Greenpeace UK, Oxfam GB, Friends of the Earth and Christian Aid are among those to sign the letter, saying the US president-elect “threatens to fatally undermine international climate action at a crucial moment”.

“Our planet cannot afford for Trump’s election to derail international climate action,” they wrote.

“While he will not re-enter the White House until January, his pro-oil, anti-climate stance could immediately influence the Cop29 negotiations next week.

“Fossil fuel lobbyists, thousands of whom attended the talks last year, are likely to be emboldened in their efforts to sabotage change.

“Political leaders must show strength and vision to ensure that action to cut emissions and boost public finance for developing countries is significantly scaled up without delay.”

It also comes as several G7 leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as the EU president Ursula von der Leyen, confirmed they will not be attending Cop29.

The letter points to deadly weather events over the last year, including hurricanes, storms and floods that have killed hundreds, displaced millions and caused hundreds of billions of pounds of damage around the world in recent weeks.

“Here in the UK, exceptionally wet weather has led to the second-worst harvest since records began, with devastating implications for British farming communities and the country’s future food security,” they wrote.

Dubbed the “finance Cop”, a central theme at this year’s conference is its focus on scaling up climate finance to meet the rapidly escalating cost of climate change.

The green groups warned that while fossil fuel giants continue “to rake in eye-watering profits”, many climate-vulnerable countries face mounting public debt crises, underscoring the need to vastly build up new and additional grants-based finance.

In the letter, they outlined a series of demands to Sir Keir, starting with restoring the UK’s reputation on the world stage as a leader on cutting emissions by enacting his manifesto pledge to end new oil and gas, and encouraging other states to do the same.

The campaigners said Sir Keir should work to rebuild trust with Global South countries by backing grant-based public finance and debt relief for those facing climate damages, and champion bold new taxes on the high-emitting industries to raise funds for climate-impacted communities at home and abroad.

Areeba Hamid, co-executive director at Greenpeace UK, said: “Donald Trump’s re-election is a gift to the big polluters seeking to derail climate action at Cop29, but the world cannot afford further delays.

“From the devastation in Valencia to the typhoon-battered towns of the Philippines, the disasters of recent weeks are a stark warning of the costs of failure.

“People around the world are crying out for climate action and as the US steps back, others must step up.”

Rosie Downes, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said: “There’s never been a more critical time for the UK to take up the mantle of global climate leadership and rebuilding our green reputation by daring to blaze the trail for ambitious climate action.

“Extreme weather is escalating the world over, including here in the UK. The government must use the UN climate talks to show it’s back in business on climate, and to galvanise the international community at this most urgent time for people and our planet.”

PA has contacted the Energy Department (DESNZ) for comment.