Inside Politics: Xi to snub Cop26 and Amazon Christmas gifts warning

Lack of cooperation from China could torpedo climate goals and e-commerce giant says it expects supply chain disruption to continue into spring next year, writes Matt Mathers

Friday 15 October 2021 08:26 BST

(Getty Images)

Downing Street fears it is now almost certain that President Xi of China will not attend the vital Cop26 climate summit, dealing a major blow to climate change goals. Elsewhere, Lord Frost is off to Brussels for further Brexit talks and don’t panic, but Amazon is now warning customers to buy Christmas presents early.

Inside the bubble

The Commons is in recess until 18 October.

Coming up:

– DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson on Times Radio Breakfast at 8.07am

– Transport secretary Grant Shapps on talkRADIO at 8.45am

Daily Briefing

THAT’S GAS: President Xi of China is expected to snub the upcoming Cop26 climate summit in a hammer blow to Boris Johnson’s hosting of the vital talks in Glasgow. China is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases – accounting for nearly a third globally – and its refusal to participate in the talks suggest it may refuse to commit to new climate change goals amid the energy crisis. Without China’s cooperation, it’s unlikely that the targets on climate change will be met. With just two weeks to go until world leaders meet for the talks, just half of G7 countries – including the United States, also one of the world’s biggest emitters of harmful gases – have put forward their plans to tackle the crisis. “It is now pretty clear that Xi is not going to turn up and the PM has been told that,” a government source told The Times. “What we don’t know is what stance the Chinese are going to take. They could go to the G20 [summit in Rome on October 30-31] with new commitments but that is now looking less likely. The truth is that unless China comes with new commitments we’re not going to be able to keep 1.5 degrees alive.” In an audio recording that has made its way into the news – one that No 10 itself could not have timed better – Her Majesty The Queen was overheard expressing annoyance at world leaders for failing to commit to attending the upcoming Cop26 climate conference as she attended the opening of the Welsh Senedd in Cardiff. In conversation with her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Elin Jones, presiding officer of the Senedd, the monarch said she was “irritated” by people who “talk but don’t do”.

THAWING OF RELATIONS? Britain’s Brexit man Lord Frost is off to Brussels today for further talks aimed at solving trade issues in Northern Ireland. Is the frost beginning to thaw? There is growing speculation that the two sides could close in on a compromise after the EU on Wednesday gave more ground than London had expected, offering to scrap up to 80 per cent of checks on goods arriving in NI from the rest of Great Britain. But the UK side has warned that a “substantial gap” remains between the two parties remains, but accepted that Brussels had made a “considerable effort” to address British concerns about the protocol. But on the eve of the meeting Mr Sefcovic cautioned that he had “no mandate” to change the treaty and that any policy changes would have to be accommodated within it. “I have demonstrated I can do a lot, I am testing flexibility within the protocol but we should respect it and look how practically we can resolve the problems linked to protocol,” he told BBC NI’s The View programme on Thursday night, adding: “I am ready to go at big lengths to achieve that.” Stay tuned.

DON’T PANIC LATEST: Ministers are waking up this morning to more concerning reports about potential empty stockings at Christmas. Just days after toy manufacturers warned that shortages are likely, it has emerged that Amazon will push shoppers to buy gifts four weeks early and expects supply chain disruption to linger until at least spring next year, according to an internal document seen by The Independent. Even Prime customers, who pay for speedier delivery, may face some delays with their orders. “There’s an effort to shift the big push of orders that comes through ahead of mid-December earlier,” a person familiar with Amazon’s operations said. “It’s hard to overestimate the level of supply disruption we’re facing, even with our resources. It’s going to be a long, quite painful road to a new normal and air freight can’t take all the strain off of other routes.” Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, told energy companies that Britain could be heading for a mild winter during talks aimed at solving the energy crisis, according to the Financial Times. Labour accused the government of not having a plan.

ELSEWHERE IN SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS..: EU lorry drivers on British roads will be allowed to make unlimited pick-ups and drop-offs as rules are temporarily relaxed by ministers in a bid to ease the supply crisis. Transport secretary Grant Shapps has altered limits on trading rights in order to allow more deliveries. Shapps hopes the waiver will help fix fuel and food shortages as complaints grow over empty shelves. Meanwhile, up to 800 butchers will be given temporary visas to work in the UK over fears that as many as 150,000 pigs could be culled because of a backlog in abbatoirs. The government announced that pork butchers from overseas can apply up until 31 December for the visas that would allow them to work in the UK for six months. The move is temporary, and the scheme is in addition to foreign butchers already being eligible since December 2020 to apply to come to the UK through the existing skilled worker route.

On the record

“This is a new low for government energy policy. Reduced to crossing his fingers for a mild winter, Kwasi Kwarteng is showing just how much a decade of inaction from the government has left us vulnerable. Kwasi Kwarteng is the business secretary, not a weatherman. It is cold comfort for businesses and families that this is all he has to offer.”

Labour shadow business and energy secretary Ed Miliband on Kwarteng reports.

From the Twitterati

“If it isn’t Northern Ireland... this isn’t a surprise but as I say within, it really doesn’t say a lot about the UK government’s view of our attractiveness that we might have to drop climate change objectives to get trade deals. We really should be doing better.”