Sunday, September 10, 2023
Splendid isolation
As if it was not bad enough that we have cut ourselves off from our biggest market and alienated half the world by refusing to deliver on our treaty obligations on asylum, it seems that this Tory government is working to find other ways to isolate the country and turn us into international pariahs.
The Guardian reports that Rishi Sunak was warned that he faced exclusion from key discussions on the climate among world leaders at the UN before he decided to snub a global summit later this month.
The paper says that when the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, called on world leaders to attend his climate ambition summit, on the sidelines of this year’s UN general assembly meeting, he stipulated that only countries that can show they have ambitious policies to reduce their emissions in line with the goals of the Paris agreement would be allowed to participate.
They add that the UK government has caused consternation in capitals around the world by seeming to waver on its commitments to net zero emissions and the 2015 Paris climate agreement:
Sunak’s decision over the summer to “max out” the North Sea by licensing new oil and gas fields raised eyebrows among many countries and climate diplomats.
Sunak would risk falling foul of the UN secretary-general’s strict stipulations if he were to attempt to participate in the climate segment. The potential embarrassment he faced throws a new light on his decision not to attend the UN general assembly.
Meanwhile, the Mirror reports that Sunak has landed in India for a G20 summit warning that a trade deal with the host country may never happen, and insisting that he is in no rush to get one signed.
So much for Brexiteers claiming that trade deals would just fall into our lap after we departed the EU. If anything, we are becoming more and more isolated from the rest of the world.
The Guardian reports that Rishi Sunak was warned that he faced exclusion from key discussions on the climate among world leaders at the UN before he decided to snub a global summit later this month.
The paper says that when the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, called on world leaders to attend his climate ambition summit, on the sidelines of this year’s UN general assembly meeting, he stipulated that only countries that can show they have ambitious policies to reduce their emissions in line with the goals of the Paris agreement would be allowed to participate.
They add that the UK government has caused consternation in capitals around the world by seeming to waver on its commitments to net zero emissions and the 2015 Paris climate agreement:
Sunak’s decision over the summer to “max out” the North Sea by licensing new oil and gas fields raised eyebrows among many countries and climate diplomats.
Sunak would risk falling foul of the UN secretary-general’s strict stipulations if he were to attempt to participate in the climate segment. The potential embarrassment he faced throws a new light on his decision not to attend the UN general assembly.
Meanwhile, the Mirror reports that Sunak has landed in India for a G20 summit warning that a trade deal with the host country may never happen, and insisting that he is in no rush to get one signed.
So much for Brexiteers claiming that trade deals would just fall into our lap after we departed the EU. If anything, we are becoming more and more isolated from the rest of the world.
