British international environment minister Zac Goldsmith has resigned while accusing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of being uninterested in environmental issues.
“The issue is that you, our Prime Minister, are merely uninterested, not that the administration is anti-environment. said Goldsmith.
“On Friday, Goldsmith said that Britain has lost its position as a global leader in climate change concerns.
Mr Goldsmith rejected Sunak’s attempt to portray his departure as a response to a request for an apology for criticism of a Johnson inquiry by a parliamentary committee.
Sunak replied to Goldsmith with a letter that began:
“You were asked to apologise for your comments about the Privileges Committee as we felt they were incompatible with your position as a Minister of the Crown. You have decided to take a different course.”
Goldsmith said he was happy to make an apology for his criticism of the Privileges Committee.
Goldsmith sat in parliament’s upper chamber and held the title of Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment.
Some of Johnson’s allies have been increasingly critical of the government since he resigned from parliament earlier this month in protest over a report that found he had deliberately misled lawmakers about COVID lockdown parties.
Goldsmith was on Thursday reprimanded by a parliamentary committee which criticised the behaviour of a group of Johnson loyalists for seeking to intimidate the panel that criticised his conduct during lockdown.
In his resignation letter, Goldsmith said Britain had “visibly stepped off the world stage and withdrawn our leadership on climate and nature”.
That echoed a report published earlier this week by the government’s climate advisers, who said Britain had lost its position as a global leader on climate action and was not doing enough to meet its mid-century net zero target.
The Climate Change Committee report also highlighted a recent decision to commission a new coal mine and support for new British oil and gas production.
Sunak has set up a new government department in charge of Britain’s net zero plan and highlighted the importance of growth in green industries to Britain’s economic future.
The government established a new multi-million pound fund to construct and repair wildlife-rich habitats on Friday, shortly after Goldsmith resigned.
With an election coming up next year and the Conservative Party lagging in polls, the party is split between Sunak supporters and those who, like Goldsmith, believe former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been unfairly marginalized.
