THE MAN AT THE EYE OF CLIMATE STORM

Exclusive: Cop26 chief on looming havoc... and how daughter made him go veggie

HE is the man behind what has been described as ‘the last, best chance’ to save our planet.

As president of Cop26, Alok Sharma has set the agenda for the summit and will lead the formal negotiations on a new international agreement on climate change.

Speaking exclusively to the Scottish Daily Mail yesterday, he warned that Scotland faces ‘more frequent and disruptive’ weather unless humanity can find a way to pull the world back from the brink.

He revealed he had witnessed the devastation caused by global warming in countries around the world, and warned that the UK’s weather patterns were also being affected.

Speaking as the UN summit began in Glasgow, Mr Sharma insisted the city will ‘go down in his

‘Unless we get to grips with this it will get worse’

tory’ as the event’s host, as the world battles to tackle climate change.

He said of extreme weather events: ‘Communities see it themselves, we are under increased risk of flooding.

‘If you talk to the farming community they will tell you that the change in climate is having an impact in terms of lower yields of crops, so we are all facing this.

‘I think people do recognise that this is something happening not just around the world but also in the United Kingdom.’

He added: ‘People can see the impact of this in Scotland. I do fear these climate events are going to get more frequent, they are going to get more disruptive. That’s why we need to act now.’

But he warned that, even if the world ‘got to net zero tomorrow’, because of the climate change already in progress ‘we will sadly continue to see increases in impacts, we will continue to see sea levels rise, as an example’.

He said: ‘I think it’s really important for everyone to understand that these impacts are here to stay and, unless we get to grips with this, it is going to get worse.

‘I think we have to absolutely follow the science here.’

He also cited weather events around the world to highlight the damage of climate change, pointing to floods across central Europe as well as wildfires in North America and Australia.

In his role as Cop26 president, Mr Sharma has travelled the world meeting leaders to discuss how countries can help lower their emissions. Destinations included a visit to Barbuda in the Caribbean earlier this year.

It was hit by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and still displays signs of the horrific damage caused.

Mr Sharma said: ‘It [Hurricane Irma] literally wiped out the place. Standing there four years later, yes, they had a bit of construction but it literally still feels like the hurricane was a few weeks ago.’

The eyes of the world will be on Glasgow as world leaders and officials meet to discuss ways to limit global warming.

But with tens of thousands of people to descend on the city there has been much discussion over the disruption this will cause to locals trying to go about their everyday lives. Mr Sharma said he was ‘very grateful for people’s patience in Glasgow’ as roads are closed off around the Scottish Event Campus and the wider city.

‘What we’ve seen is very good working with our partners in Glasgow and more widely in Scotland,’ he said. ‘I think there are very many people who do understand they, of course, will face disruption in their lives and I’m very grateful for people’s patience in Glasgow in bearing with us on that.’

He insisted that many ‘do realise that what we are trying to do here is going to benefit all of us, it’s going to benefit all of humanity and it is about ensuring that we get commitments from world leaders to tackle climate change, to limit global warming’.

He added: ‘Glasgow will go down in history and will forever be associated with Cop26 and I think it will add to Glasgow’s credentials as a city that is serious about tackling climate change.’

With a growing move for people to begin making changes to their own lives, Mr Sharma – a Minister of State at the Cabinet Office who chairs the Cabinet climate action implementation committee to coordinate government action towards net zero by 2050 – said he has always preferred the ‘carrot rather then stick’ when it comes to persuading the public.

He predicted ‘technology’ will make it easier for people to make the changes necessary in future by driving down prices.

He said: ‘If you look at any technology, the price of that comes down pretty fast as you reach economies of scale, and I suspect the same thing will happen in terms of many of the technologies that we want people to adapt to in terms of lowering emissions.’

In his role as Cop26 president, Mr Sharma also revealed he had decided to make changes to his own lifestyle to help the environment, becoming a vegetarian in recent months after encouragement from his youngest daughter.

He said: ‘When I got this role she sat me down and said, “What are you going to do yourself in terms of tackling climate change?” So I decided that, with her support and encouragement, I would give up eating meat.

‘That’s not for everyone, but very many people across our country want to know what they can do in terms of their actions, in terms of tackling climate change.

‘And for me, that’s something that I have done.’

‘Glasgow will go down in history’