Electric cars and heat pumps must be affordable for people on all incomes, Burnham tells COP31

World leaders and industry must make electric cars and heat pumps affordable if they are to ensure people on all incomes can make the green transition, U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey.

During a flying visit to this year's U.N. conference in Turkey, Burnham reaffirmed the U.K.'s commitment to the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

But he warned that the world had not moved as quickly as he had hoped in the past five years to show citizens that climate action and electrification have cost-of-living upsides.

Burnham said the last of these meetings he attended was COP26 as the mayor of Greater Manchester, referring to the 2021 summit hosted by the U.K. He warned at the time that the climate movement must not lose sight of the struggles of ordinary families.

He said the world feels very different now, and adaptation is needed. Electrification in transport, heat and industry is how clean power becomes cheap power, he said.

While voicing support for COP31 hosts Turkey and Australia's electrification push, Burnham stopped short of backing the specific target of 35 percent of global energy use shifting to electricity by 2035.

He said that if you drive a new electric car today in the U.K., it costs less than a petrol equivalent, and that on the right tariff a heat pump can be cheaper to run than a gas boiler. These technologies are becoming cheaper, but they are not available to everybody on all incomes, he said.

Burnham said his government is investing in innovation and subsidising upfront costs for the public. But industry also needs to play its part, and help people on all incomes to make the green transition, he said.

The focus on EVs and heat pumps comes despite Burnham's government cutting the subsidy pot for heat pumps at last month's budget. Ministers are also weighing proposals to water down industry EV quotas.

Reiterating the U.K.'s strategy to cut dependence on fossil fuels, he said the climate crisis is not a distant threat, it is upon everyone now, devastating lives and livelihoods everywhere, and that two wars across two continents have sent fuel prices and gas bills soaring for families and businesses. The common thread, he said, is dependence on fossil fuels.

Burnham announced the U.K. would use its G20 presidency next year to put climate resilience back on the agenda, with debt, development, and insurance as key issues.

His government has also created a new role of special representative for climate security, appointing former Joint Intelligence Committee chair Madeline Alessandri to the post.