Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has indicated that it is willing to discuss climate “reparations” with countries such as Pakistan, even as he prepares tax increases and public service cuts in his country.
According to The Times, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is leading a group of countries demanding climate change “reparations” from the West, despite their own less-than-green behaviour.
British business secretary Grant Shapps MP said the Sunak administration was “accepting the principle that there’s a discussion to be had about this” at the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt.
“We industrialised first and we appreciate the rest of the world needs to be able to bring themselves along as well,” Shapps added, implying that the Sunak administration is content to maintain the status quo in which China and other non-Western countries can continue to burn coal and enjoy relatively cheap energy while countries such as Britain cripple their industries with anti-carbon policy initiatives.
Sunak is said to have already pledged £65.5 million to support green initiatives in the Third World, and he 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.”