Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has signalled it is open to discussing climate “reparations” for the likes of Pakistan, as he prepares tax hikes and public service cuts at home in the name of fiscal responsibility.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is leading a bloc of countries demanding climate change “reparations” from the West, despite their own less than environmentally friendly behaviour, and British business secretary Grant Shapps MP said the Sunak administration was “accepting the principle there’s a discussion to be had about this” at the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt, according to The Times.
“We industrialised first and we appreciate the rest of the world needs to be able to bring themselves along as well,” Shapps added, indicating that the Sunak administration is happy to continue the status quo in which China and other non-Western nations can continue to burn coal and enjoy relatively cheap energy while the likes of Britain cripple their industries with anti-carbon policies.
The Telegraph, which is close to Britain’s government Conservative Party, reports that Sunak has already committed to pledging £65.5 million to support green initiatives in the Third World, and will tell COP27 — which he initially said he would skip in order to focus on domestic crises — that “we can turn our struggle against climate change into a global mission for new jobs and clean growth.”
Boris Johnson, who was Prime Minister during Sunak’s time as Chancellor of the Exchequer, is also at the summit, having decided that pursuing a net zero green agenda is to be his key political legacy, alongside deep involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian war, and offered some words in opposition to climate reparations — sort of.
“The best way to fix this is not to look backwards and to try to tot up some bill for loss and damage that the UK or other countries have done, but try to try to look at what the UK can do to help to take countries forward and help them achieve the carbon reductions and green technologies [they need],” said Johnson — a distinction which will prove meaningless if “reparations” and help[ing] to take countries forward… and achieve carbon reductions and green technologies” both entail sending money overseas.
With the Conservative Party’s perennially disrespected activist and voter base not being particularly keen on reparations, this may be exactly the sort of fudge Sunak intends to deploy, with a spokesman for 10 Downing Street saying that “[w]e’re not talking about reparations or liabilities, we’re talking about continuing to support countries adapt to the impact of climate change” — i.e. still sending money overseas but claiming it’s standard aid spending instead of reparations.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Britain’s supposed opposition appears to be offering the British public no real alternative, with Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, merely suggesting the government should go even further.
“This is about global solidarity, yes we have some historical responsibility… It’s morally right and it’s also in our self-interest too because if we don’t act and if we don’t help countries around the world, we’re going to end up with the problems that countries face coming back to us.” said the leftist MP, who was Labour leader from 2010 to 2015.
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