Sunday 20 November 2022 03:14 PM Rishi Sunak warns 'more must be done' after COP27 deal trends now
Rishi Sunak warned that 'more must be done' to tackle climate change today after a last-minute deal at the COP27 summit.
The PM cautioned over 'complacency' amid criticism that not enough progress had been made at the gathering in Egypt.
Meanwhile, the UK's envoy Alok Sharma pointed to major holes in the latest agreement, saying the prospects of limiting temperature increases to 1.5 degrees are on 'life support'.
The UN gathering controversially sealed a pact on a 'loss and damage' mechanism, set to see developing countries pay billions to states hit by extreme weather and rising sea levels.
That move has prompted anger among Tories who dismiss the idea that the UK should hand 'reparations' for historic carbon emissions.
Protests against fossil fuels outside the COP27 summit in Egypt
Campaigners have been demanding a 'loss and damage' fund at the COP27 summit in Egypt
Rishi Sunak said 'more must be done' after the deal was struck in Egypt overnight
Mr Sunak attended the COP27 earlier this month despite originally shunning the event.
He said in a brief statement today: 'I welcome the progress made at Cop27, but there can be no time for complacency.
'Keeping the 1.5 degrees commitment alive is vital to the future of our planet.
'More must be done.'
The slogan of 'keeping 1.5 alive' dominated discussions at the summit in Glasgow last year, when Cop26 President Mr Sharma and the UK delegation steered efforts to limit global warming.
Speaking at the summit's closing plenary session, Mr Sharma said that progress on loss and damage has been 'historic' but warned that it was not a moment for 'unqualified celebration'.
'Many of us came here to safeguard the outcomes that we secured in Glasgow, and to go further still,' he said.
'In our attempts to do that, we have had a series of very challenging conversations over the past few days.
'Indeed those of us who came to Egypt to keep 1.5 degrees alive, and to respect what
