Boris Johnson defends taking plane to G7 summit – as climate change set to be high on the agenda
The prime minister has been criticised for travelling to the G7 summit in Cornwall by plane, instead of taking the train.
Boris Johnson arrived in Cornwall for the gathering of some of the world’s most developed economies, with climate change set to be high on the agenda.
A picture of the PM stepping off on a jet was posted on his Twitter account, alongside the caption: “I’ve arrived in Cornwall for this year’s @G7 where I’ll be asking my fellow leaders to rise to the challenge of beating the pandemic and building back better, fairer and greener.
“It will be a busy and important Summit, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Labour’s shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard labelled the move “plane stupid”.
“There’s no train line from Cornwall to Washington or Tokyo but there is to London. The prime minister should have taken the train, not got a plane,” he said.
Asked about his decision to fly into the summit, Mr Johnson said: “If you attack my arrival by plane, I respectfully point out that the UK is actually in the lead in developing sustainable aviation fuel.
“One of the points in the 10-point plan of our green industrial revolution is to get to jet zero as well as net zero.”
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrive on Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall.
Other world leaders arrived in Cornwall on Wednesday, with Joe Biden landing at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on Air Force One.
Rather than using making the train journey from Paddington to London, Mr Johnson took the 250 miles (400km) trip From Stansted airport to Newquay in Cornwall.
Taking a plane creates almost five times more greenhouse gas emissions than the equivalent train journey, according to the government’s own emission figures.
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One of the key policy priorities of this year’s summit is to “create a greener, more prosperous future”.
The summit’s website adds: “We will protect the future of our planet by moving to net zero and providing financial support for developing countries to do the same.”
In November, Glasgow will host COP26, where parties are expected to commit to enhanced ambitions.
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The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.
Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.
There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.
Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte in October. Pic: PA
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A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.
They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.
“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.
“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”
The defence review will also be published in the spring.
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While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.
They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.
With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.
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