UK climate minister leaves Cop28 summit as talks reach critical point: ‘A slap in the face’

The UK climate minister Graham Stuart has left the Cop28 climate negotiations at a critical moment to fly thousands of miles back to parliament for a crunch vote on the government's controversial plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that Mr Stuart would return to Dubai after the vote, a round-trip of more than 6,000 miles.

Mr Stuart was the ministerial head of delegation at the Dubai summit, where nations are in a stand off over the future of fossil fuels. Climate groups called the decision a “slap in the face” as countries try and agree a final deal.

Richard Benyon, the minister of state for overseas territories, is currently the leading presence on the ground, a representative at the UK delegation offices inside the Dubai Expo venue told The Independent.

In the wake of the news, Mr Benyonposted on social media that Britain is at “the heart of negotiations giving real leadership” as the negotiations reach their final “vital” stage.

Asked about the carbon emissions from the flights Mr Stuart would take, the prime minister's spokesman said: "This government is not anti-flying. We don't lecture the public to that regard. The most important thing is the outcomes of Cop, which minister Stuart is obviously leading for the UK on.

"Ministers have a number of roles, the negotiations continue and he will return to Cop."

A government spokesperson said that would still be “full official representation on the ground” at the summit, including by Lord Benyon. “Minister Stuart will continue to be the lead UK minister for negotiations and remains in constant contact with the UK lead climate negotiator and Lord Benyon, with any final decisions agreed with him,” they added.

Climate advocates slammed the decision to send Mr Stuart back to the UK.

“As world leaders are locked in intense negotiations to discuss the existential threat posed by climate disaster, the departure of Minister Stuart is yet a further slap in the face to countries urging major polluters like the UK to act, said Hannah Bond, co-director of policy advocacy at ActionAid UK. In a shocking betrayal of trust as COP wraps up, the Prime Minister seems happier to fight the culture wars and not climate change"

Ed Miliband, Labour shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero said this is the latest episode in Mr Sunak “tanking Britain’s reputation on the world stage” and that it is a “sad truth” that “many countries simply won’t even notice that his minister has disappeared.”

“Graham Stuart flying home in the middle of negotiations tells you everything you need to know about the Tories,” he added.

Calling time on the fossil-fuel era, the root cause of the climate crisis, has emerged as the central fight of the Dubai negotiations – as nations scramble to keep the goal of limiting average global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels within reach and with 2023 set to be the hottest year humans have ever experienced.

The latest draft text put out on Monday had removed the words “phase out” and “phase down” of fossil fuels from the options for delegates to agree upon, calling instead for “reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner” while framing such cuts in output as optional

That sparked a fierce reaction from some of the nations most vulnerable to the impact of the climate crisis, saying they had not come to “sign our death certificate” while a representative for the EU called the draft “unacceptable” and warned that the bloc could walk away from discussions. The US said that the wording of the draft text, including about fossil fuels, needed to be “substantially strengthened”.

The UK has also hit at at the latest draft, with a government spokesperson saying: “This draft is disappointing and does not go far enough. The UK position is clear - there must be a phase out of unabated fossil fuels to meet our climate goals.

"The UK is working with all parties and will continue to push for an ambitious outcome at COP28 that keeps 1.5 degrees in reach.”

Climate groups have questioned the UK’s committment to the climate, pointing to plans for a new round of oil and gas licences in the North Sea. Mr Sunak attended Cop28 briefly in the opening days of the summit, but was criticised for staying for less time talking to other leaders than he spent on the private jet that took him to Dubai and back.

Chiara Liguori, Oxfam’s senior climate change policy advisor, said: “There can be no more tragic outcome for UK climate diplomacy than this – flying home from talks to avert a climate catastrophe at the most critical moment in an attempt to salvage a cruel and impractical policy,” said.

Claire Coutinho, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, also attended for at the beginning of the talks, but Mr Stuart has been in charge for the crunch negotiations over the summit agreement.