Starmer pledges to slash carbon emissions by 81%

Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump are on a collision course over the climate crisis after the prime minister yesterday positioned himself as the international leader spearheading efforts to achieve net zero.

- DAVID MADDOX STUTI MISHRA

The PM used his voice as one of the only world leaders from the G20 nations to attend the Cop29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, to announce that carbon emissions in the UK will be slashed by 81 per cent by 2035.

But it came as President-elect Trump indicated that he would be taking the US in the opposite direction with the controversial appointment of Lee Zeldin to lead the US Environment Protection Agency. There are serious concerns that Mr Trump will now walk away from the Paris climate accord as he did in his first term.

The former congressman Mr Zeldin, a longstanding critic of net zero policies, will be tasked with stripping away environmental rules and regulations introduced by Joe Biden’s administration.

Speaking at the conference, Sir Keir refused to directly attack any government leader for avoiding the conference and he did not directly criticise Mr Trump. But he said: “We are here to show leadership.” He made it clear that he wants London to become the green finance capital of the world and for the UK to be at the forefront of new green technology.

The new goal on reducing carbon emissions is in line with the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee, the UK’s climate watchdog.