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U.K.’s Johnson Warns G-20 to Act on Climate Before It’s Too Late

U.K.’s Johnson Warns G-20 to Act on Climate Before It’s Too Late

U.K.’s Johnson Warns G-20 to Act on Climate Before It’s Too Late
A climate change mural near the location for the upcoming COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, U.K., on Oct. 20, 2021. (Photographer: Ian Forsyth/Bloomberg)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged his fellow Group of 20 leaders to step up their game in tackling climate change before it becomes too late to rescue the most vulnerable nations from its “apocalyptic” effects.

The premier will attend the two-day G-20 summit in Rome before heading late Sunday to Glasgow, where the U.K. is hosting two weeks of United Nations climate talks, known as COP26. So far, climate discussions have been deadlocked, with China refusing to boost its commitments to limit global warming and countries struggling to reach an agreement on coal. 

Johnson’s goal at COP26 is for collective action from 197 nations to keep “alive” the chances of containing global warming since pre-industrial times to 1.5 degrees Celsius, an ambition spelled out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“We are not going to stop global warming in Rome or in this meeting in COP,” Johnson told reporters during the flight to Rome. “The most we can hope to do is slow the increase.” Referring to the fall of the Roman Empire, he warned that modern civilization risks going “backwards” unless it gets the fight against climate change right.

With a United Nations analysis showing a projected increase of 2.7 degrees under current pledges, the prime minister is calling for “concrete steps” to cut coal use, phase in electric vehicles, send climate aid to poorer nations, and plant and preserve forests.

“Too many countries are still doing too little,” Johnson’s spokesman, Max Blain, told reporters. “While G-20 countries are overwhelmingly responsible for the problem, it is poorer nations who are already feeling the consequences.”

U.K.’s Johnson Warns G-20 to Act on Climate Before It’s Too Late

A report this month showed rich nations will meet their goal of providing $100 billion annually in climate finance to poorer countries only by 2023 -- three years later than promised. U.K. ministers “want and expect countries to come forward with more ambitious commitments in the coming days,” Blain said. 

The U.K. expects about 120 world leaders to attend the early stages of COP26 on Monday and Tuesday before leaving the more granular negotiations to officials, diplomats and ministers. On Monday, Johnson will host a round table on “action and solidarity,” bringing together leaders of big emitters and those of smaller, more vulnerable nations. 

‘Apocalyptic’ Events

“Climate-vulnerable countries are increasingly experiencing apocalyptic flooding, wildfires, heat waves and the prospect of their economies being devastated thanks to climate change,” Blain said. “If we don’t act now, it will be too late.” 

Ahead of COP26, the U.K. announced a series of policies to demonstrate it’s serious about meeting its own target of carbon neutrality by 2050. That includes an overarching emissions-reduction plan across all sectors, alongside a strategy to overhaul the way homes and offices are heated.

Late Friday, the government announced 160 million pounds ($220 million) in funding to help build the factories and port infrastructure needed to spur the development of floating offshore wind farms.

Johnson will hold bilateral meetings in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Planned bilaterals in Glasgow include meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, as well as the leaders of Indonesia, Japan, Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There are no plans yet for a formal bilateral at either summit with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Chinese President Xi Jinping isn’t going to Rome or Glasgow, but Johnson spoke with him by phone on Friday. After China announced this week it would be sticking with its target to reach peak greenhouse gas emissions before 2030, the prime minister said he tried to press Xi to bring it forward to 2025.

“I wouldn’t say he committed on that,” Johnson told reporters.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.