PM CALLS FOR ‘BOLD’

Boris urges countries to ‘deliver for the world’ and pull together to fight climate change in bid to limit temperature rise

BORIS Johnson has called for countries to “deliver for the world” by driving “for the line” in the Cop26 summit’s second week.

The Prime Minister wants to build on the first seven days of the UN climate change conference in Glasgow, which brought around 120 world leaders together to progress the shared goal of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees centigrade.

He spoke as tens of thousands of people yesterday took to the streets of cities across the UK, including in Glasgow, London, Cardiff and Bristol, to demand stronger action to stop climate change.

Mr Johnson last night said: “There is one week left for Cop26 to deliver for the world, and we must all pull together and drive for the line.

“We have seen nations bring ambition and action to help limit rising temperatures, with new pledges to cut carbon and methane emissions, end deforestation, phase out coal and provide more finance to countries most vulnerable to climate change. But we cannot underestimate the task at hand to keep 1.5C alive.

“Countries must come back to the table this week ready to make the bold compromises and ambitious commitments needed.”

The complex negotiations planned for this week will seek to progress issues left open by the Paris Agreement in 2015, including the process for tracking how all countries are keeping their climate commitments.

Another issue will be how to create a fairer system so no nation is disadvantaged by being more ambitious on cutting emissions.

There is still a significant gap between the measures countries have committed to and what is needed to avoid going above the 1.5C target, beyond which the worst floods, droughts, storms and rising seas will be felt.

Scores of countries, as well as UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, are pushing for accelerated action on emissions cuts. In response to the Prime Minister’s rallying cry, Labour’s shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said: “The truth after the first week of the Cop is that we remain a long way off where we need to be to realistically say we have taken the major steps required to keep 1.5 alive.

“But all the Prime Minister now offers is empty exhortation and commentary.

“We have a right to expect him to engage directly in these final days, personally driving these negotiations forward, pushing all the major emitters to do more, delivering the finance required.”

However, not all Conservative MPS are happy with the PM’S focus on the environmental agenda, with a “red wall” Tory complaining that “all this green agenda ******** , this Cop26, it’s not what people voted for”.

Meanwhile, National Trust organisations around the world have called for a ban on the use of peat in compost to tackle the effects of climate change.

The National Trust said healthy peatlands act as carbon sinks, trapping in carbon to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, as well as helping to control flooding.

Organisations from 19 countries – including Scotland, Ireland, Germany and Indonesia – are also calling on their cumulative eight million members to stop buying products that rely on peat and instead seek sustainable alternatives.

National Trust director-general Hilary Mcgrady said: “We are all taking action in our organisations to eliminate the use of peat in our gardens and through our supply chains – but we can’t end this practice alone.

“So I call on our members to make a positive choice for climate when shopping at garden centres and buy peat-free compost.”

‘Countries must

come back to the table ready

to make ambitious commitments’