PM will urge world to act on climate change
Johnson to use his speech at the UN to tell leaders that Cop26 conference must be a turning point
‘It is time for humanity to grow up. It is time for us to listen to the warnings of the scientists’
‘In my country, we’re at great levels of liberty. We’ve had to do it by sweet reason and persuasion. That’s working’
THE world must “grow up” and act now on climate change, Boris Johnson will tell the UN today, after he received the welcome news that Joe Biden was doubling his cash pledge for Cop26.
In a speech to the UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister will complete his four-day trip to the US with a candid call for world leaders to go further in the fight against global warming.
It will complete a series of barbed interventions by Mr Johnson during his US visit, aware that time is running out before the Cop26 climate change conference in Glasgow in November.
“We still cling with part of our minds to the infantile belief that the world was made for our gratification and pleasure and we combine this narcissism with a primitive assumption of our own immortality,” Mr Johnson will say in his UN speech tonight. “We believe that someone else will clear up the mess we make, because that is what someone else has always done.
“We trash our habitats again and again with the inductive reasoning that we have got away with it so far, and therefore we will get away with it again.
“My friends, the adolescence of humanity is coming to an end.
“We are approaching that critical turning point – in less than two months – when we must show that we are capable of learning, and maturing, and finally taking responsibility for the destruction we are doing – not just to our planet but to ourselves.
“It is time for humanity to grow up. It is time for us to listen to the warnings of the scientists – and look at Covid, if you want an example of gloomy scientists being proved right – and to understand who we are and what we are doing.”
Biden boost
Mr Biden announced yesterday that the US will give $11.2billion (£8.2billion) a year in climate finance to developing countries, in a significant boost to one of Mr Johnson’s main Cop26 pledges.
The President’s pledge doubles America’s previous commitment – a move that UK government ministers and officials had been pushing for hard behind the scenes.
Mr Johnson had named finally getting developed nations to reach the $100billion a year climate finance target adopted a decade ago as one of four key targets for Cop26.
The Daily Telegraph disclosed in the summer that British officials feared that if the US did not act soon on the pledge it was at risk of being missed.
Mr Johnson welcomed Mr Biden’s climate funding promise.
“I think today was a really good day for the world,” he said.
“There’s no question that this American action has been a big lift and will really help us to get there,” .
Developed nations are still billions of pounds short on hitting the $100 billion a year target. Italy, France and scores of G20 nations are being pushed to increase their pledges.
Afghanistan
Mr Johnson yesterday hinted at frustration with how Mr Biden handled the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
After the President’s insistence that American troops must be out of the country by Sept 11 the Taliban swept to power, taking the capital of Kabul much quicker than expected. “Could we have done it a bit differently? Maybe we could,” Mr Johnson said when pushed on the Afghan withdrawal in an interview with the US broadcaster NBC.
Mr Johnson and his Cabinet ministers have previously made clear that they tried to keep soldiers on the ground longer with other allies but accepted they could not without the US.
However, after meeting with Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, Mr Johnson praised the co-operation between the US and UK military on the evacuation from Kabul airport of citizens and Afghans who had helped Allied forces.
Mr Johnson said: “My country, the UK, owes a big debt to the US military for the incredible professionalism and sacrifice they showed at that airport. It was an amazing operation.”
Covid jabs
The Prime Minister yesterday issued a plea for the stars of the BBC’S popular television show Strictly Come Dancing to get Covid vaccines.
Mr Johnson was asked by GB News: “Strictly Come Dancing, some of the stars are not taking their jabs, they are refusing it, what’s your message to them?” He said: “Everyone should take their jabs, everyone should take their jabs, and I’m saying that not in a hectoring or bullying way, but just because I think it’s a great thing to do.”
Mr Johnson also declined to endorse Mr Biden’s strategy of mandating Covid jabs for scores of government workers.
He told NBC: “This is a controversial area. People feel very strongly about not having the state mandate something. In my country, we’re at great levels of liberty. We’ve had to do it by sweet reason and persuasion. That’s working.”
Jeff Bezos
The Prime Minister also told Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s richest men, to get his company Amazon to pay more tax in the UK. The pair held face-to-face talks on the fringes of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday evening.
Me Johnson later told ITV News: “What I did say to him was that we in the UK feel very strongly that the internet giants need to be making their fair share of contribution in tax. When you sell many, many billions worth of goods in the UK, then you’ve got to expect to be taxed fairly in the UK.”