UK minister in charge of climate summit criticised for taking 25 flights in three months

Meet ‘air miles Alok’. The government claims face-to-face meetings are vital for the success of negotiations. Otherwise the planet gets it!
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The minister in charge of preparations for a UN climate summit has been criticised for travelling tens of thousands of miles by jet, says The Independent.

Alok Sharma had urged people to make “small changes in the way we go about our day-to-day lives” in order to cut their carbon emissions.

But an analysis by the Daily Telegraph newspaper found that Mr Sharma took 25 flights in three months, travelling up to 73,853 miles between January 31 and May 12.

The newspaper estimates that the COP 26 president’s travel had an environmental footprint equivalent to around 17 tonnes of carbon. [Talkshop comment: correction –  carbon dioxide, not ‘carbon’].

The government said that while online discussions could play a role, face-to-face meetings were key to the success of negotiations in preparation for the climate summit.

But one anonymous Conservative MP criticised the minister, branding him ‘air miles Alok’.

Full article here.