Government eco chief Alok Sharma racked up £125,000 bill for trip to China

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JET-setting Alok “Airmiles” Sharma racked up a £125,000 bill for a trip to China to beg them to sign his eco deal

The climate change czar flew to 37 countries in less than a year to drum up support for the historic COP26 agreement.

COP26 President Alok Sharma travelled more than 150,000 miles in his mission to woo nations to go greener, at a total cost to the public purse of nearly £250,000

His return flight to China on a specially-chartered plane alone cost £125,000 while his accommodation, meals and visas added another £18,000 to the total bill.

The COP26 President travelled more than 150,000 miles in his mission to woo nations to go greener, at a total cost to the public purse of nearly £250,000.

Officials said there was no commercial flight available to Tianjin, where the Chinese Government hold all their meetings, forcing them to put on a special flight.

The carbon footprint on the journeys is estimated to have generated around 55,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

But the Government stressed the entire summit – including all of Mr Sharma’s travel – will be carbon neutral and the emissions will be offset.

Hopes for a landmark deal at the summit last November were dashed at the last moment as China teamed up with India to water down the deal over coal, only vowing to “phase down” its use.

A UK Government spokesperson said last night: “At COP26 almost 200 countries came together and agreed the historic Glasgow Climate Pact which kept the goal of limiting average global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees in reach.

“Ahead of the summit, the COP President travelled to key countries for face to face meetings which are vital to ensuring success in climate negotiations and crucial to understanding first-hand the opportunities and challenges other countries are facing in the fight against climate change.

“The UK will be offsetting all carbon emissions associated with running COP26 including travel.”