Climate chief Alok Sharma warns: I may quit if new PM dumps net zero pledge

theguardian.com:

The cabinet minister who led last year’s landmark Cop26 UN climate summit has made a dramatic intervention in the Tory leadership race, suggesting he could resign if the incoming prime minister fails to commit to a strong agenda on theclimate crisis.

In an interview with the Observer, Alok Sharma said a total commitment to the net zero agenda from whoever is to lead the country would be essential to avoid “incredible damage” to Britain’s global standing, as well as irreversible harm to the UK and international economies.

“This is absolutely a leadership issue,” Sharma said, accusing some of the candidates of being “lukewarm” on net zero in the contest so far.

“Anyone aspiring to lead our country needs to demonstrate that they take this issue incredibly seriously, that they’re willing to continue to lead and take up the mantle that Boris Johnson started off. I want to see candidates very proactively set out their support for our net zero agenda for green growth.”

His comments came as the UK braced itself for record-breaking temperatures of 40C (104F) over the coming days, while fires raged across large parts of the continent.

In south-western France and Spain thousands of people had to be evacuated from their homes. More than 12,200 people had fled France’s Gironde region by Saturday morning as 1,000 firefighters battled to bring the flames under control.

Asked if he could resign if candidates were weak on net zero, Sharma said: “Let’s see, shall we? I think we need to see where the candidates are. And we need to see who actually ends up in No 10. I hope every candidate realises why this is so important for voters generally and why it’s important for Conservative supporters. And I hope that we will see, particularly with the