Keir Starmer dodged questions over US president-elect Donald Trump's controversial climate views as he jetted into a major summit.
The PM instead stressed the UK will show leadership to tackle the climate crisis as he arrived at the Cop29 summit being held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Mr Trump's re-election last week has cast a dark shadow over talks at the summit as experts fear his victory will be a blow to global action on climate change.
The president-elect has previously described climate change as a "hoax" and has also threatened to drag the US out of the Paris climate agreement once more. During his last stint in the Oval Office, Mr Trump withdrew from the landmark pact that commits nations to pursue efforts to curb global warming to 1.5C.
After Trump was turfed out of office in 2020, US President Joe Biden signed the US back up. Asked whether he was prepared to call out Mr Trump for his views on climate change, Mr Starmer told reporters: "I'm not going to comment on his views.
"I am very clear in mine which is that the climate challenge is something that we have got to rise to and that's why I've repeatedly said we've got to show leadership." He added: "But I do think it’s more than just an obligation, it’s a huge opportunity. "The UK has a huge opportunity to get ahead here when it comes to renewables.
"That’s why I’m encouraging as much investment as I can when it comes to carbon capture, when it comes to hydrogen, when it comes to offshore wind, there’s a global race on now to be the global leader on this.
"I want us to be in the race and I want us to win the race." Mr Starmer will also attempt to show world leaders at the Cop29 summit the UK is back on the global stage in tackling the climate emergency.
Ex-Tory PM Rishi Sunak was accused of undermining the UK's standing after U-turning on a series of net zero targets during his time in No10. The PM will use the summit to promise to deliver on his manifesto pledge to make the UK a clean energy superpower by 2030.
Ahead of the summit, he said this will "fire up our industrial heartlands and break down barriers to growth in our hard-working towns and cities". He added: “It will strengthen our national security - protecting our children and grandchildren from the climate crisis, and impact this will have on their future prosperity."
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who arrived in Baku with the PM last night, last week told the Cabinet climate change was a threat to national security. He told them the global economy could be 19% smaller in 2049 than it would be otherwise and put an extra 600,000 people in the UK at risk of flooding.
Downing Street also highlighted the 2022 heatwave which saw temperatures breach 40°C and said these events are estimated to be ten times more likely due to climate change.