Reading West’s Alok Sharma responds to honour

Published by

Sam Pither

Alok Sharma, MP for Reading West, has said he is “humbled” to receive the Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, which recognises international influence, for his work on COP26.

Under his remit as business secretary, Sharma was President of the COP26 conference when it was hosted in Glasgow in 2021.

In 2022, he then put considerable effort into following up with nations, encouraging them to stick to the commitments made at the conference along with attending a number of conferences worldwide. His activities saw him travelling around 63,934 air miles between January and June of last year.

He said: “I am truly humbled to receive this honour. Delivering the COP26 conference and getting almost 200 countries to agree the Glasgow Climate Pact were collectively a great UK team effort, supported by many of our dedicated civil servants and diplomats around the world.

“However, if we are to keep alive the prospect of limiting average global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, which will help to avert the worst impacts of climate change, all countries need to redouble efforts to meet their climate commitments.”

Featured image credit: Chris McAndrew / UK Parliament

Sam Pither

Sam is the Regional Editor of Biz News, responsible for both Hampshire and Dorset. A new recruit to journalism, Sam started writing for the Business Magazine as a freelancer in May of 2022 after completing his degree in English at University College London. His passion for local businesses and ability to tell a story soon caught the attention of the publication’s management team and have led to his meteoric rise. Sam, who lives in central Reading, takes a particular interest in technology, gaming and food and drink, having been a chef before starting his degree.