COP31: UK Makes History, Appoints World’s First ‘Climate Security’ Envoy

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced on Thursday the appointment of a special envoy focused on “climate security”, a world first, to better prepare for the growing impacts of global warming. In a speech to the UN’s COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, the Labour leader recalled that he spent his first three weeks as prime minister this past summer responding to the worst wildfires Britain ever experienced.

“I decided then it was important for me to be here to show British leadership in a world where climate issues have taken too much of a backseat,” said Burnham, who was the only G7 leader attending the summit. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech during the High-Level Segment for Heads of States and Government at the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) at the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya on November 11, 2026.

Britain and the rest of western Europe experienced their hottest summer on record, with a succession of heatwaves and wildfires. The heat caused tens of thousands of excess deaths on the continent. “Climate is a national security issue,” Burnham said. “As evidence of that, I am today announcing the appointment of Dame Madeleine Alessandri as the first UK special representative for climate security,” he said.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg arrives at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, on November 10, 2026. Alessandri is the former head of the UK’s Joint Intelligence Committee, the body that briefs ministers on security threats. “In this role, I will work with partners across government and internationally to strengthen our understanding of climate threats, build resilience, and ensure we are better prepared for the challenges ahead,” Alessandri said in a statement.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers a speech during the High-Level Segment for Heads of States and Government at the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) at the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya on November 11, 2026. Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP Britain has a climate minister, Katie White, who is in Antalya for the COP31 talks that are scheduled to end on November 20.

Cosima Cassel, an expert at climate think-tank E3G, said countries often have climate envoys and climate security is part of their remit. “This is the first climate security envoy specifically,” she told AFP. “This appointment elevates that issue to the level it deserves, and other governments should consider a similar model,” Cassel said. This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Presidency Press Office on November 10, 2026, shows Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C,R) meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (C,L) during the COP31 UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya.

Environmental group Greenpeace also said the appointment was a “welcome move” as climate change is a “threat multiplier”. Greenpeace, however, criticised Burnham for his recent decision to authorise drilling a gas field in the North Sea. “The choices he makes over the coming weeks and months will decide if his speech today was more than hot air,” Ami McCarthy, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, told AFP.

Climate activists sing during a demonstration organized by Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, on November 10, 2026. AFP