Keir Starmer is walking a tightrope - and 1 thing could see him hit from all sides

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's visit to Brazil for COP30 this week comes at a politically sensitive moment for both the UK and the wider global climate agenda.

Domestically, Sir Keir faces pressure from multiple directions: the Reform Party and the Conservatives continue to challenge Labour from the right, questioning the pace and cost of the UK's green transition and enthusiasm for net zero.

The Green Party has seen a surge in support from voters who believe Labour's climate commitments do not go far enough.

This leaves Starmer balancing the need to project international leadership with the realities of managing domestic political expectations.

The UK retains its position as a global climate leader, a status largely established under the leadership of Boris Johnson during COP26 in Glasgow.

Just last month, the former Prime Minister cautioned the current Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, against backing away from the green mission.

Sir Keir aims to strengthen that Johnson-era foundation by projecting consistency and reliability in the UK's global climate role.

But COP30 in Belém, Brazil, is facing a series of logistical challenges.

Infrastructure concerns have raised doubts about whether this summit will achieve the scale and ambition originally envisioned, particularly as it was initially billed to serve as a landmark nature COP, focusing on biodiversity and forest protection.

Complicating the global context is Donald Trump's anti-climate drive, which risks disrupting international cooperation on climate action.

A landmark deal to cut global shipping emissions was abandoned recently after Saudi Arabia and the US succeeded in ending the talks.

More than 100 countries had gathered in London to approve a deal first agreed in April, which would have seen shipping become the world's first industry to adopt internationally mandated targets to reduce emissions.

But US President Donald Trump had called the plan a "green scam" and representatives of his administration had threatened countries with tariffs if they voted in favour of it.

Against this backdrop, Starmer's participation carries both symbolic and strategic weight.

He's reinforcing the UK's commitment to global climate leadership amid a shifting political landscape.