Starmer Criticises Sunak for Davos No-Show and Calls for ‘Clean Power Alliance’

UK government represented by Grant Shapps and Kemi Badenoch

Britain's opposition Labour party leader Keir Starmer (R) walk with Britain's opposition Labour Party shadow chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves prior to a meeting with CEOs during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 19, 2023. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Sir Keir Starmer has criticised the absence of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the World Economic Forum in Davos and called for a “clean power alliance” of countries who want to accelerate action on climate change and bring down energy prices.

With a general election expected in the next 18 months, the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party set his stall out in Switzerland on Thursday and said his presence, along with shadow chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves was a “statement of intent.”

Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have snubbed the annual gathering of the world’s economic elite in the Swiss ski resort, with the British government represented by Business Secretary Grant Shapps and International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch.

Starmer said: “I think our prime minister should have showed up at Davos. One of the things that’s been impressed on me since I’ve been here is the absence of the United Kingdom.”

He said: “That’s why it’s really important that I’m here and that our shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is here as a statement of intent that should there be a change of government, and I hope there will be, the United Kingdom will play its part on the global stage in a way I think it probably hasn’t in recent years.”

A Downing Street spokesman said Sunak was not at Davos because he “continues to focus on delivering for the British people” and the prime minister is touring the north of England to highlight £2.1 billion of spending from the Levelling Up Fund.

Reeves said: “Somebody has got to be an ambassador for Britain, and the prime minister and the chancellor of my country are not here ... we think it’s really important to be here talking to business and investors about our plans for the future.”

Starmer made it clear his government would not support new investments in oil and gas, a key demand of the Just Stop Oil protesters who have been disrupting roads in Britain in recent months.

Activists with the Just Stop Oil climate campaign group hold a banner at Barons Court in west London as they block the A4 during a series of actions in the city on Oct. 18, 2022. Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images

He said: “What we’ve said about oil and gas is there does need to be a transition. Obviously, it will play its part during that transition, but not new investment, not new fields up in the North Sea, because we need to go towards net-zero, we need to ensure that renewable energy is where we go next.”

Starmer’s message wasn’t well received in Britain’s oil and gas capital, the Scottish city of Aberdeen.

Ryan Crighton, policy manager at Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said, “I find it very hard to understand how Labour can form an energy policy given how little I know it has engaged with the industry.”

Starmer Accused of ‘Fundamental Misunderstanding’ of Energy Transition

Crighton said: “His support for renewables is welcome, but like the SNP last week, the position set out by Sir Keir suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of the energy transition, and the requirement for oil and gas to both bridge and fund it.

“The energy transition is going to take 25 years or more and there is quite clearly a sustained period of time where oil and gas will remain a crucial part of our energy mix,” he added.

But Starmer set out a vision of an international alliance of clean power nations which would balance the power of OPEC, the cartel of oil-producing countries.

He said: “One of the things that I am proposing is a clean power alliance where countries that are in the advance when it comes to net-zero share information, cooperate and share investment with a view to driving the global prices down.

“So, this is an inverse OPEC, if you like. Instead of trying to ensure prices stay at a certain level, it’s to drive them down, to see the common benefit, whether it’s in the UK or across the globe. If we could get that alliance working together, then I think that will be a big step in the right direction,” he added.

International Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch leaves 10 Downing Street following a cabinet meeting, in London, on Dec. 6, 2022. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Starmer said he aimed to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030 and said the first step to doing that would be creating a state-owned energy company within his first year of taking office.

His comments followed an apocalyptic speech by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore who warned of a future of “rain bombs” and “boiling” oceans.

Shapps Criticises Biden’s Green Subsidies

But it was the current occupier of the White House who was targeted for criticism by Shapps, who said President Joe Biden’s $430 billion (£350 billion) package of green subsidies risked a “dangerous” slide into protectionism.

Last month Badenoch wrote to the U.S. government to complain that the Inflation Reduction Act would “harm multiple economies across the world” and impact the supply chains for batteries, electric vehicles, and other renewables.

In Davos, Shapps said: “We are great global traders. We want the world to be as open as possible. It is very, very important that we don’t slip into protectionism. That is where, at the edges, the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. is dangerous because it could slip into protectionism.”

“It’s not its intention, I don’t think it’s necessarily where it is going. But I think that’s where we have to be really careful,” he added.

PA Media contributed to this report.