Starmer says he ‘hasn’t changed his mind’ on climate action before Cop30 summit

Sir Keir Starmer said he has not changed his mind on climate action as he prepares to travel to Brazil for the UN Cop30 summit.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to the Government’s clean energy ambitions and the UK’s role as a global climate leader as he was quizzed by sixth formers in Downing Street on Monday.

Answering their questions alongside Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Sir Keir acknowledged that Cop30 will be a “challenge” amid sluggish global progress on cutting emissions and the deepening geopolitical divide over climate action.

“I’ve thought climate change has been our biggest challenge as a species for a very long number of years now,” he said.

“I haven’t changed my mind because some other people have changed their minds.

“It’s very important we go and we show that leadership. So that’s what we’ll be going for.”

Asked about how large countries have failed to stick by previous international agreements and what makes him confident Cop30 will be a success, Sir Keir said: “It’s a challenge. There’s no doubt about it.

“You’re trying to get a whole bunch of countries to act in a similar way. That’s not easy. They’ve all got their own political pressures in their own country.

“But I genuinely believe that only by coming together and committing and coming back and looking at the commitments we made in the past, and making the argument is really important.

“And I think one of the main reasons for going is to continue to make that case.”

His comments come amid the splintering of consensus on climate action both in the UK and globally as well as growing concerns about the effectiveness of the multilateral process.

Labour came into Government pledging to remove almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity supply by 2030, as part of efforts to secure energy supplies, curb bills, boost investment and tackle climate change.

But the agenda has faced significant pushback from the Conservatives and Reform UK, who have pledged to ditch “expensive” net zero policies and repeal climate legislation.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump vowed to “unleash” oil and gas drilling as he pulled the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter out of the 2015 UN Paris Agreement to limit dangerous global warming.

Speaking to the group of school pupils on Monday, Sir Keir said the UK delegation will travel to Cop30 with young people “first and foremost in our minds” as he sought to gauge their opinions before the summit.

He said: “I’m mindful as we go there that young people are really important to our leadership and the messages that we need to deliver at Cop because the challenge of protecting our climate and our planet is one for all of us.

“But it’s particularly relevant for you because you have to live with the consequences of the decisions we either do take or don’t take, the action that we either take or don’t take.”

The PM also argued that the green transition is “more than just an obligation” but comes with “massive opportunities for us”.

“As we move to, for example, renewable energy, that is a good thing for our planet, but it’s also a really good thing for the jobs of the future, and sustainable way in which we want to grow our economy,” he said.

In September, Sir Keir faced backlash after it was reported that he was considering not attending the Cop30 leader’s summit to focus on domestic matters as Reform UK surged in the polls.

Downing Street was also later forced to deny he was prepared to miss the 2030 target to keep energy bills down.

Earlier, the Energy Secretary heard about the apathy and despair some young people feel about taking action and the future more generally in the face of climate change.

Mr Miliband told the group of teenagers: “While it’s true that we’re not nearly doing enough, it’s not true to say that the world hasn’t taken some action.”

He acknowledged that the climate crisis is “really scary” but the feeling of pessimism is why it is “quite important to point out the progress that we’ve made”.

“I think part of our task is to project positivity,” he said.

The Energy Secretary also discussed career prospects in transition industries with the pupils, who came from schools across the country.

He highlighted the Government’s recently-announced national plan to train and recruit workers to fill the clean energy skills gap, with a promise of more than 400,000 extra green jobs by 2030 and the creation of so-called technical excellence colleges.

Challenged on whether young people could trust the Government to deliver on their promises, the Energy Secretary said: “Judge us on results. That’s what you should judge us on.

“Over the last 16 months, what we’ve tried to do is go as fast as we can on the things we pledged to do,” he added, citing the removal of the de facto onshore wind ban, as well as plans to drive solar, offshore wind and nuclear energy.

“We’re driving absolutely as fast as we can.”