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Treat climate change as a “global security threat,” urges David Attenborough
David Attenborough will tell G7 leaders today that they are facing some of the most important decisions in human history and calls for stronger action on the climate crisis.
The broadcaster and environmentalist will address a climate session in Cornwall on the last day of summer and deliver a message to G7 leaders and guests Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa at a session on climate and nature.
Before the meeting, he said: “Nature is severely restricted today. It is undeniable.
“The decisions we will make in this decade – especially the decisions of the most economically advanced nations – are the most important in human history.”
Meanwhile, Joe Biden is calling on G7 leaders to take a tougher stance on China’s human rights violations. The US president wants a communique condemning forced labor in Xinjiang – but other nations are said to be hesitant.
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“Stop arguing about protocol and hitting a deal,” says Labor
Ministers must stop arguing with the EU and find practical solutions to the Northern Ireland Protocol of Brexit.
She said a Swiss-style veterinary deal might be the “most realistic” path, an opinion shared by Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin.
Labor shadow trade secretary Mrs Thornberry also accused the government of failing to comply with EU food standards rules because “they want the potential to lower our agricultural standards and our food standards in order to enter into other future trade deals”. . “
She told Sky News: “What we should be doing is looking into what is in the UK’s best interests. You have always said that you will not lower our food and agricultural standards below those in the European Union. We don’t just agree with the European Union on that? ”
“The irony here is that the US President is saying, ‘You know, the most important thing is not a trade deal between the UK and the United States – the most important thing is the Good Friday Agreement, that you should do that in the UK, too.'”
On Covid-19, Ms. Thornberry also accused the government of not acting fast enough to stop travel from India to stop the spread of the Delta variant.
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 10:35 am
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Who rules the world? Not G7, says China
China has struck back against the G7, telling its leaders that the days when “small” groups of countries dictated global decisions are “long gone”.
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London said in a statement today, “The days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone.
“We always believe that countries, big or small, strong or weak, poor or rich, are the same and that world affairs should be handled through consultation by all countries.”
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 10:04 am
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“Unforgivable moral failure”: Gordon Brown criticizes G7 leaders for pledging 1 billion vaccines
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the G7 summit would be canceled “as a missed opportunity” in the absence of a plan to deliver 11 billion doses of vaccine.
Speaking to Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday’s program, he said, “When we needed 11 billion vaccines, we were only offered one plan for a billion.”
He added: “I think this summit will also be seen as an unforgivable moral failure when the richest countries have the power to do something about it.
“Now that we’ve discovered the vaccine, we haven’t yet come up with the comprehensive plan that will deliver the vaccine by the middle of next year.”
Mr. Brown continued, “We are going to have a huge problem of separation between the richest countries that are safe and the poorest countries that are not safe.
“But then the problem will haunt the richest countries again because we will have a contagion that will hurt even people vaccinated because of mutations and variants.”
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 9:43 am
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Raab: EU shows disrespect for Northern Ireland
During his previous interview with Sky News’s Trevor Phillips, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab also accused the EU of a lack of respect for Northern Ireland.
Mr Raab claimed that some heads of state or government had spoken “serially” about Northern Ireland as if it were a different country from the UK.
He said: “What we cannot have is the continued disruption of trade and an effective attempt to change the status of Northern Ireland against the consent and will of the people, which is contrary not only to the Northern Ireland Protocol but also to the Belfast Protocol Approval.
“We have regularly seen senior EU officials talking about Northern Ireland as if it were a different country from the UK.
“Could you imagine if we were talking about Catalonia, the Flemish part of Belgium, one of the countries in Germany, Northern Italy, Corsica in France as different countries. We need a little respect here.”
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 9:30 am
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Prime Minister meets with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa
Boris Johnson and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa attend a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.
Later today, leaders will have a discussion on climate change and will watch a taped message from Sir David Attenborough.
They are expected to issue a communique at the end of the summit.
(AP)
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 9:23 am
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Raab: Great Britain wants to reduce tensions with the EU in Northern Ireland
The UK wants to ease tensions with the EU amid an ongoing dispute over the Brexit protocol for Northern Ireland, Dominic Raab said.
“We want tensions to be reduced, we want a flexible, pragmatic approach. What we cannot have is that both the Northern Ireland Protocol is being applied very unilaterally and that it is undermining the Good Friday Agreement, “the Foreign Secretary told Sky News.
He also refused to comment on Boris Johnson’s claims that French President Emmanuel Macron hinted during talks yesterday that Northern Ireland is not part of the UK.
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 9:03 AM
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Unilateral action on the protocol would be “problematic,” the Irish Prime Minister told Johnson
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin said it would be “very problematic” if Britain unilaterally extended the grace period for Northern Ireland protocol reviews again.
But speaking on Trevor Phillips’ Sunday program on Sky News, Mr. Martin also insisted that a breakthrough between the EU and the UK was still possible “if there is a will on both sides”.
His remarks came after Boris Johnson escalated his dispute with the European Union by warning that he would do everything possible to maintain the flow of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland.
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 8:42 am
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All talk, no action?
Boris Johnson and other heads of state and government tried to highlight their “green” credentials at this year’s summit.
But what must leaders do to save our rapidly heating planet?
Our climate correspondent Daisy Dunne has this analysis:
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 8:36 am
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Tensions in the “sausage war” heightened when Boris Johnson said he would “not hesitate” to suspend protocol
Boris Johnson set Britain on the path to a trade war with Brussels in a bellicose reaction to the ambush of EU leaders over the Northern Ireland Protocol at the G7 summit in Cornwall
Our Politics Editor Andrew Woodcock has the story:
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 8:06 am
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Joe Biden’s call to the G7 to tackle China’s human rights violations threatens to divide the summit
An urge by Joe Biden to crack down on G7 leaders against China’s human rights violations threatened to divide the world’s leading democracies at their Cornwall summit.
Our Deputy Political Editor Rob Merrick reports:
Matt MathersJune 13, 2021 8:03 AM
