UK Taxpayers Spent Over £800,000 on Delegation to COP30 Climate Summit
New data has revealed that UK taxpayers spent over £800,000 on a large delegation from the UK’s net zero department attending the COP30 climate summit in Brazil. The event, which took place last autumn, saw 73 delegates from the UK government travel to the United Nations climate conference, led by Labour’s Energy Secretary.
The costs associated with this trip were significant, with plane travel alone costing the public £210,450. An additional £6,091 was spent on carbon credits to offset the emissions generated during the flights. The group also spent £600,740 on renting private apartments in Belém, the host city, due to high prices during the two-week conference. Another £1,660 was spent on hotel rooms, and £28,025 was allocated for miscellaneous expenses. However, the total cost is expected to rise further as 13 members of the delegation have not yet submitted their claims.
Ed Miliband made two trips to Brazil for COP30, arriving at the start of the summit and departing at its conclusion. During his stay, he was seen dining at a luxury restaurant located at the top of the five-star Tivoli hotel in Belém. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer and his team from No 10 also attended the summit, although the costs of their trip have not yet been disclosed.
This spending has sparked criticism, especially given Miliband’s refusal to support measures that could help ease Britain’s rising energy costs. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has further driven up energy prices, and critics argue that allowing new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea could provide some relief. However, Miliband has not taken this approach, drawing accusations of hypocrisy from opposition figures.
The COP30 summit itself faced criticism, with some calling it a waste of time and money. Notably, leaders from three of the world’s largest emitters—China, India, and the US—boycotted the event. Additionally, the final text of the summit did not include a commitment to phase out fossil fuels, which many had hoped for.
Miliband admitted that the UK had hoped for more from the summit, including a roadmap for transitioning to renewable energy. However, he acknowledged that some countries were unwilling to agree to such commitments. He described the experience of attending the event in the Amazon rainforest as “sweaty, maddening, sleepless.”
Callum McGoldrick, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, who obtained the costs through the Freedom of Information Act, said: “Hard-pressed taxpayers will be utterly furious to see a whole brigade of bureaucrats flown to Brazil at their expense. Forking out more than £600,000 just to put them up in private apartments is a staggering waste of public money. The fact that this eye-watering bill is still climbing as more expenses are claimed just adds insult to injury. The Government should stop sending so many civil servants jet-setting around the globe to lecture the rest of us on emissions, especially when the cost is so high.”
Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho added: “Ed Miliband has been jacking up the cost of a family holiday with new flight taxes whilst his team rack up huge bills flying around the world to lecture us all about climate change. The hypocrisy of the Net Zero cult knows no limits.”
Despite the controversy, sources claim that the UK took a smaller delegation to Brazil compared to previous COP summits, in an effort to reduce costs. The Government also secured private sponsorship to cover the cost of the UK pavilion and Delegation Office at the event.
A spokesman for Mr Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero stated: “The UK delegation at COP30 was crucial in driving forward a historic roadmap with 80+ countries to transition away from fossil fuels, boosting energy and climate security for the British people. We make no apologies for ministers and officials travelling around the country and abroad, fighting for investment, jobs, energy security and action on the climate crisis for Britain.”
However, the figures published today do not cover the entire cost of the UK’s involvement at COP30. According to the official register of delegates published by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, over 200 individuals from the UK were registered to attend the summit. This included Ed Miliband, junior minister Katie White, environment minister Mary Creagh, and several other MPs such as Dame Emily Thornberry, former development minister Anneliese Dodds, and Chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee Toby Perkins.
In addition to MPs, the delegation included more than 50 policy officials from various Whitehall departments, senior figures from ministerial private offices, and diplomatic staff from the British embassy in Brasilia. Also on the list was UK Special Representative for Climate Rachel Kyte, who was photographed dining with Miliband during the summit.
It emerged last year that Kyte had taken more than a dozen flights, most of them in business class, despite acknowledging her carbon footprint as a “source of deep discomfort.” Meanwhile, the net zero department’s ministers have flown more than six times around the world since taking office, with Miliband personally accumulating over 50,000 air miles across nine trips.
