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Lord Zac Goldsmith resigned as a UK minister on Friday morning, citing the prime minister’s lack of interest in the environment which has “caused a kind of paralysis” in policy commitments to tackle global warming.
The move came a day after Goldsmith, who served as minister for the international environment, was publicly rebuked for criticising and frustrating MPs’ efforts to investigate the partygate scandal.
He said in a statement on Twitter on Friday that he was “horrified” by the government’s decision to abandon environmental commitments “domestically and on the world stage”.
“Only last week, you seemingly chose to attend the party of a media baron rather than attend a critically important environmental summit in Paris,” he wrote to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
He also said the government had “effectively abandoned” one of its “most widely reported and solemn promises” — its pledge to spend £11.6bn of its aid budget on the climate and environment.