Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has urged former US President Donald Trump to learn from history and back the global shift to green energy. Speaking at the COP29 climate change summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, Starmer said there is a “global transition” to clean power underway and that being a “first mover” in this transition presents significant economic opportunities.
Addressing Trump’s expected withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, Starmer said: “The central most important thing for me here at COP is one, to continue to show UK leadership on climate at this critical time and we will continue to do so, to make sure that we are the enablers of the leveraging of private capital now towards the targets that need to be set.”
Starmer emphasised that the UK sees this transition not just as a global challenge, but a global opportunity. He said: “If you were to look at where global investors are investing, they are investing in renewables and everybody knows there is a transition, an energy transition, these things happen quite rarely, once in a generation usually, perhaps a little bit longer than that where there is a global transition on energy and the lesson from history is to go into that transition with a clear plan, for a just outcome.”
The Prime Minister also announced a £1 billion contract for offshore wind turbine blades to be manufactured in Hull, underlining the UK’s commitment to creating high-skilled green jobs. Starmer insisted the government’s net zero drive would not involve “telling people how to live their lives”, but rather focus on delivering stable energy bills and energy independence.
Amid the absence of several world leaders at COP29, Starmer said the UK was determined to show global leadership on tackling climate change, stressing that “there is no national security, there is no economic security, there is no global security without climate security.”
