Reading MP Alok Sharma’s globe-trotting role as world leader in the battle to fight the climate crisis has been revealed.

Since becoming the president of the COP26 climate conference in January last year, Mr Sharma has been all over the world to aid the governments of other countries in a united bid to tackle climate change.

Although the COP26 conference happened in Glasgow last November, Mr Sharma, the Conservative MP for Reading West, has continued to travel the world ahead of this year’s COP27 conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

His globe-trotting has been questioned as almost all of the travelling he does are flights, with planes using fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide contributing to approximately 2.4 per cent of global CO2 emissions.

In April to June of this year, Mr Sharma visited countries in Europe, America and Africa, racking up approximately 29,434 air miles in the process.

This figure comes from an estimation of the air miles according to Mr Sharma’s travel itinerary in Quarter 2 (April to June) of 2022, which has been published by the Cabinet Office.

READ MORE: Reading election prediction sees Conservative MP Alok Sharma lose his seat

The furthest flights Mr Sharma undertook were to Africa and America.

On June 19, he went to Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss the Just Energy Transition Partnership including efforts to help it transition away from coal.

Afterwards, Mr Sharma visited Kigali, Rwanda, to meet the heads of government of Commonwealth countries.

Earlier in Spring, Mr Sharma visited the USA for World Bank meetings and liaising with members of Congress.

In Europe, he went to Switzerland twice, once to Geneva to visit various organisations as COP President, and then to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

You can view the places he visited and purpose of travel in the table below:

The calculation of 29,434 air miles has been made on the assumption that Mr Sharma returned to the UK after his trips ended, and can only be an estimate, as his exact itinerary is not defined.

For example, it is unclear how Mr Sharma got between Washington DC to Boston, but it is assumed he flew.

The same being said for travels between Mexico City to Cancun, and from Davos to Berlin given the dates on the itinerary.

Asked to rationalise the number of flights undertaken, a COP26 spokesperson said: “The COP President travels to key countries for face to face meetings. This is vital to support climate negotiations and understand first-hand the opportunities and challenges other countries are facing in the fight against climate change.

“The UK is offsetting carbon emissions associated with COP26 presidency travel.”

However, the spokesperson did not explain how these emissions would be offset when asked.

Mr Sharma racked up more air miles in 2022 Q1, travelling an estimated 34,696 miles on visits to Egpyt, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil and other countries.