Lord Goldsmith has accused the government of ‘apathy’ on the environment and Rishi Sunak of being ‘uninterested’ in the issue.
In a letter sent to the Prime Minister on 30 June, the peer outlined the reasons for his decision to resign as foreign minister with responsibilities for energy and environment. He wrote: ‘The problem is not that the government is hostile to the environment, it is that you, our Prime Minister, are simply uninterested. That signal, or lack of it, has trickled down through Whitehall and caused a kind of paralysis. This government’s apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable.’
Lord Goldsmith warns that the Conservative Party risks losing votes if it fails to take action on climate change before the next general election: ‘Even if this existential challenge leaves you personally unmoved, there is a world of people who do care very much.’
His resignation from government follows critical comments that he made about last month’s Privileges Committee inquiry that triggered former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to step down from the House of Commons.
