Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has sparked a climate row after travelling to Azerbaijan to outline Britain’s plans at the Cop29 climate conference.
The Labour PM met with world leaders at the annual summit in Baku as he declared the UK’s commitment to an “81 per cent reduction in emissions” by 2035.
Speaking at the conference, Starmer said that the UK has an “opportunity to get ahead” on the world stage when it comes to climate, and Britain is “building our reputation as a climate leader”.
He said in his speech: “The climate challenge is something that we have got to rise to and that’s why I’ve repeatedly said we’ve got to show leadership.”
Nigel Neslon and Piers Pottinger clashed over Keir Starmer’s climate plans for Britain
GB News / PA
Discussing the PM’s speech on GB News, political commentator Piers Pottinger said the Labour leader is “plucking targets out of thin air”, and is “out of touch” with reality.
Pottinger claimed: “It seems to me that he loves going to these international conferences and talking about subjects that 95 per cent of the people there are not interested in.
“It’s also really interesting that while he was speaking, Shell, Britain’s biggest company, has just won a landmark case in the Dutch courts. They were fighting against them trying to restrict their emissions. And that’s a huge victory – it shows how out of touch with reality Starmer is.”
Hitting back at Pottinger’s remarks, political commentator Nigel Nelson argued that Starmer is there to “back Britain” and represent the country on the world stage.
The Prime Minister attended the climate conference after marking Armistice Day in FranceReutersNelson explained: “What he is there to do is back Britain. He’s there to support Britain and promote Britain, so in fairness, that’s exactly what he did in his speech.
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When asked by Pottinger “who Starmer is promoting Britain to”, Nelson hit back: “He’s promoting to the rest of the world.
“Because if we get in a situation whereby we really do become a clean energy superpower, it’s going to be an awful lot better if we can sell our technology rather than have to buy it in at a later date.”
Disagreeing with Nelson, Pottinger laughed, claiming that Britain “becoming a clean energy superpower” is the “funniest thing I’ve heard in years”.
Nelson responded: “Well that’s the plan for growth, and he wants to put Britain ahead of the game. That’s not a bad message for an international audience.”
Pottinger laughed at the idea of Britain becoming an ‘clean energy superpower’
GB News
In criticism of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Pottinger claimed that him being in charge of the UK’s plan for climate change is “superfluous”.
He told GB News: “When Ed Miliband is in charge of this sort of thing, I think it is superfluous. All he does is pluck things out of the air, say it’s wonderful and has no idea how it’s going to work.”
When asked by Nelson if he has “anything complimentary” to say of Labour, Pottinger stated: “No I don’t, because he’s causing such damage to this country in every way.
“Unless you’re in the public sector, this government doesn’t care about you. He’s shown that by everything he’d done. There is no growth for this country coming.”