Senior figures in climate diplomacy, including the key architect of the Paris climate agreement, have urged the UK government to maintain its commitments to climate action, amid escalating attacks intended to generate a “culture war” on the net zero target.

Laurence Tubiana, the French diplomat who crafted the 2015 Paris agreement, now chief executive of the European Climate Foundation, said: “We are not happy, and we are crossing our fingers [that the UK will reaffirm its net zero commitment]. It’s very important that the UK keeps this direction of travel.”She and other international observers are increasingly worried that the rows over net zero within the UK government, which have seen the Net Zero Scrutiny Group linking the cost-of-living crisis to the carbon reduction agenda, will undermine the progress made last year at the Cop26 UN climate talks.

The UK will continue to lead the talks until Egypt takes over at the next summit, Cop27, this November. British leadership will be essential to the success of Cop27, as countries must use the next eight months to revise their national emissions-cutting plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), as they agreed to do at Glasgow.

Guest post from The Guardian