Andy Burnham at COP31: Climate Consensus Has ‘Gone’ — But Britain Promises a ‘New Era of Leadership’

Introduction

Britain’s Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has told world leaders at the COP31 climate summit that the global agreement on climate action has broken down — and that the world will now overshoot the 1.5°C warming limit set in the Paris Agreement.

Speaking in Antalya, Türkiye, on Thursday 12 November, Burnham said: “The consensus we once enjoyed on science and climate has gone, and the reality is now the world will reach 1.5 degrees.”

But he insisted Britain would not step back. He promised “a new era of British leadership over the next decade”, recommitted the UK to reaching net zero by 2050, and announced a new climate security envoy and a programme to unlock £5 billion in private money for clean energy around the world.

Burnham was the only leader from the G7 group of rich nations to address the summit. The United States, once a major force in the climate talks, sent no official delegation for the second year in a row.

A summer that was “not normal”

Burnham opened his speech with the summer Britain has just lived through. “The summer from which Britain recently emerged was not normal,” he said.

“I spent my first three weeks as Prime Minister responding to the worst wildfires Britain has ever experienced. I decided then it was important for me to be here to show British leadership in a world where climate issues have taken too much of a backseat.”

It was his first COP summit as Prime Minister. The last climate conference he attended was COP26 in Glasgow, five years ago, when he was Mayor of Greater Manchester.

“In the five years since we have not moved as quick as I had hoped,” he admitted. “The world feels very different now and we need to adapt.”

His message was blunt: “The climate crisis is not a distant threat. It is upon us all now, devastating lives and livelihoods everywhere.”

What is COP31?

COP31 is the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference. It opened in Antalya, a coastal city in southwestern Türkiye, on Monday 9 November and runs until 20 November.

Around 92,000 delegates have registered to attend, making it one of the largest climate gatherings ever held.

The leaders’ summit — the part of the conference where heads of state and government speak — took place on 11 and 12 November under the theme “Towards a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future”. More than 100 national leaders attended, along with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

On Wednesday, Guterres warned leaders that fossil fuels were putting the world on “a path to mutually assured destruction” and said they “must go the way of the dinosaurs”.

The talks come at a difficult moment. A major report published this week warned the world is heading for an “irrecoverable overshoot” of 1.5°C, as climate action stalls. At the same time, soaring oil and gas prices — driven in part by two wars on two continents — have pushed many governments to rethink their energy policies.

Why 1.5°C matters

The 1.5°C figure is the central target of the Paris Agreement, the landmark climate deal signed in 2015. Countries agreed to try to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels — the average temperature before factories, cars and power stations began burning large amounts of fossil fuels.

Scientists say that every fraction of a degree matters. Beyond 1.5°C, heatwaves, droughts, floods and sea-level rise become more frequent and more severe, and some changes — such as the loss of coral reefs and Arctic ice — become very hard to reverse.

Burnham’s statement that the world “will reach 1.5 degrees” is a recognition that the target is now almost certain to be missed, at least temporarily. It matches the warning in this week’s report, which found that current climate policies put the world on course to pass the limit and stay above it.

That does not mean the fight is over. Climate scientists stress that the difference between 1.5°C and 2°C is still enormous, and that every bit of warming avoided saves lives, homes and livelihoods. Burnham’s argument was that leadership — and action — has become more urgent, not less.

Climate is now a national security issue

The most striking part of Burnham’s speech was his decision to frame climate change as a security threat, not just an environmental one.

“Climate is a national security issue,” he said. “Climate leadership and action have become more urgent. Britain will answer the call.”

As evidence, he announced the appointment of Dame Madeleine Alessandri as the first ever UK special representative for climate security. Alessandri previously chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee, the body that gives ministers the UK’s most sensitive security assessments.

The appointment sends a clear signal: Britain now treats climate change — and the competition for clean energy — as a matter for its security establishment, not just its environment department.

It also reflects a wider shift at the summit. With energy prices high and wars disrupting fuel supplies, many leaders in Antalya have talked about clean energy in the language of security and independence, not only of saving the planet.

The £5 billion Amplify plan

Burnham also announced UK support for a programme called Amplify, which aims to secure £5 billion of new private finance for clean energy projects around the world.

The idea is simple. Public money on its own is not enough to pay for the clean energy transition, especially in poorer countries. But a modest amount of public funding, used wisely, can unlock much larger sums from private investors.

“The City of London has become adept at taking a modest amount of public funding and converting it into significant sums of private investment,” Burnham said. “Building on that success, I am today announcing UK support for the Amplify programme.”

The announcement matters most for developing nations. Many of them pay a heavy “climate premium” — higher borrowing costs and greater damage from floods, droughts and storms they did little to cause. Burnham said last week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting had brought that home to him.

Britain takes up the presidency of the G20 group of major economies next year, and Burnham said he would put climate resilience back on the agenda there, “with debt, development and insurance as key issues”.

Electrification: security, jobs and cheaper bills

Much of Burnham’s speech was devoted to electrification — replacing petrol cars, gas boilers and coal-fired industry with clean electricity. It is the main focus of this year’s COP presidency, and Burnham said he was proud to support it.

He gave three reasons why electrification matters:

First, energy security.

“It is now plain for everyone to see that if we depend on energy we do not control, then we leave ourselves exposed to prices we cannot control,” he said. “The shift to clean energy is the only route to energy security. Electrification is how we protect families from global fossil fuel shocks.”

Two wars have sent fuel prices and gas bills soaring for families and businesses across the world, he noted — and dependence on fossil fuels is the common thread.

Second, jobs.

Burnham pointed to decisions taken in Britain this week. On Wednesday, the UK gave the green light to two major offshore wind projects, which he said would bring billions of pounds in investment, power millions of homes and support thousands of jobs.

A government-funded electric arc furnace in South Wales — one of the largest in Europe — will secure 5,000 steel workers’ jobs, he said. And Rolls-Royce is taking small modular nuclear reactor technology around the world, supporting thousands more jobs.

Third, lower bills.

“Electrification in transport, heat and industry is how we make clean power cheap power,” Burnham said. If you drive a new electric car in the UK today, he said, it costs less than a petrol equivalent — and on the right tariff, a heat pump can be cheaper to run than a gas boiler.

The catch, he admitted, is that these technologies “are becoming cheaper but they are not available to everybody on all incomes”. The government is subsidising upfront costs, he said, but “we need industry to play their part too and help people on all incomes to make the green transition”.

“Britain is back”

Burnham closed his speech with a promise — and a challenge to other countries.

“Britain will live up to its commitments. We will help our friends as they live up to theirs. Britain is back and ready to play its full part.”

He also pledged that the UK would keep supporting the protection of tropical forests and oceans, “helping nations protect these precious ecosystems for the benefit of all people”.

The speech was delivered to a half-empty plenary hall, according to reporters present — a reminder of how thin attendance has been at some sessions. Burnham was the first speaker on Thursday, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and London Mayor Sadiq Khan in the audience.

His presence stood out precisely because so many other Western leaders stayed away. With the US absent for a second year and other G7 leaders not speaking, Britain’s prime minister carried the flag for the world’s richest democracies almost alone.

What it means for Pakistan and the developing world

Burnham’s speech will matter most to countries like Pakistan, which face the sharp end of climate change while contributing only a small share of global emissions.

At the same summit, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been demanding grant-based climate finance — money that does not have to be repaid — and warning against the “weaponisation of water”. Pakistan says it needs about $188 billion by 2035 to complete its clean energy transition, including $138 billion for low-carbon power and $50 billion to replace coal with solar.

Programmes like Amplify, if they work, could help channel private money towards exactly those kinds of projects. But the test will be whether the £5 billion target is reached — and whether the money actually arrives in the countries that need it most, rather than staying in richer markets.

The same question hangs over the whole summit. Leaders’ speeches are easy; delivery is hard. The negotiations in Antalya continue until 20 November, and the final deal will show whether the warm words about leadership, finance and resilience turn into real commitments.

What happens next

• Negotiations continue at COP31 in Antalya until 20 November, with finance and the next round of national climate plans at the centre of the talks.
• The Amplify programme will now move to raise its £5 billion target from private investors, with the UK’s backing.
• Dame Madeleine Alessandri begins work as the UK’s first special representative for climate security.
• Britain prepares to take over the G20 presidency next year, with climate resilience, debt and insurance on its agenda.
• Attention will turn to whether other major emitters — including the US, China and India, whose top leaders stayed away from the summit — make any new commitments before the conference ends.

FAQ

What did Andy Burnham say at COP31?

He said the global consensus on science and climate action “has gone” and that the world will now reach 1.5°C of warming. He promised a “new era of British leadership”, recommitted the UK to net zero by 2050, and announced a new climate security envoy and backing for a £5 billion clean energy finance programme.

Who is Dame Madeleine Alessandri?

She is the former chair of the UK’s Joint Intelligence Committee, which provides ministers with national security assessments. Burnham appointed her as the first ever UK special representative for climate security.

What is the Amplify programme?

It is a programme backed by the UK that aims to secure £5 billion of new private finance for clean energy projects around the world, using public money to unlock much larger private investment.

Why was Burnham the only G7 leader to speak?

The United States sent no official delegation to COP31 for the second year running, and the other G7 leaders did not address the summit. Burnham was the only G7 leader to speak in Antalya.

What is the 1.5°C target?

It is the goal set in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Scientists warn that passing it brings more severe heatwaves, floods, droughts and sea-level rise.

When does COP31 end?

The conference runs from 9 to 20 November 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye.

Conclusion

Andy Burnham’s first COP speech as Prime Minister was honest about how bad things have become: the consensus is gone, the 1.5°C limit will be passed, and progress since COP26 has been slower than he hoped.

But it was also a deliberate statement of intent. By calling climate change a national security issue, appointing a security chief as his climate envoy, and putting British money and diplomacy behind clean energy finance, Burnham is betting that leadership still matters — even when the world is divided.

Whether that bet pays off will not be decided by a speech in Antalya. It will be decided by whether the money flows, the wind farms get built, and the countries most at risk — from Pakistan’s flood plains to the small island states — actually get the help they have been promised.

For now, Britain has said it is back. The rest of the summit will show whether anyone else is coming with it.

Sources

• GOV.UK — PM speech at COP31 climate summit: 12 November 2026
• Morningstar / Alliance News — UK PM Burnham commits to 2050 net zero target, working with others
• The Times — Andy Burnham tells Cop31: Climate change is a national security threat
• Bury Times — Andy Burnham pledges ‘new era of British climate leadership’ at Cop31 summit
• UNFCCC — COP31 Antalya Leaders Summit arrangements

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.