MICHAEL Gove has declined to answer questions on who will take over as chair of a crucial climate event set to take place in Glasgow later this year.
Speaking at a conference in London held by the environmental think tank Green Alliance, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pictured, refused to be drawn in on who would take over as president of November’s 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP26.
Former minister Claire O’Neill was abruptly sacked from the role at the end of last month – but Gove said he is waiting, like everyone else, for the announcement expected later this week.
Asked whether he himself would like the role, he said: “I am very happy with the job that I have and there are many, many other people who could do the job of COP president better than I ever could.”
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon requests role for Scotland in COP summit planning
A number of high-profile Tory figures, including David Cameron and William Hague, are said to have turned down the position.
Gove also said that the UK Government needs to do more to tackle climate change, commenting that “even as we do celebrate what we’ve achieved, be in no doubt the Government recognises there’s so much more we need to do in order to genuinely demonstrate leadership”.
“It is not enough to look at the trajectory in the past. We have to be more ambitious in the future.”
He added: “One of the reasons we think it’s so important is not just because we’re hosting COP but also because we believe the UK has a moral responsibility to lead.”
A member of the audience soon called him out, however, saying there was a need for more than “recognition of the need to act” which had already been made 20 years ago.
READ MORE: Prime Minister insists COP26 will be fantastic despite shambolic organisation
At the same conference, Nicola Sturgeon told the audience that it is “vital” that the future event is successful in the face of the urgent need for climate action.
The First Minister said that the Scottish Government would work “closely and constructively” with the UK Government in order to deliver the summit.
Asked about the handling of the event so far, she said she was “concerned” about O’Neill’s sacking, but hoped those concerns would be laid to rest upon the announcement of the new appointment to the role.
She added: “It’s vital that COP is a success. It’s a massive opportunity and we have a duty – and I take that duty as First Minister of Scotland very seriously – to do everything we can to make it a success because that’s certainly in Scotland’s interest, but it’s in the interest of the UK as a whole and most importantly in the interest of the planet.”
She also highlighted to the conference that Scotland has world-leading targets to reach net zero by 2045 and had produced a budget that would help towards doing so.
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