Boris Johnson Indicates U.K. Won’t Update Climate Targets Next Year

(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson suggested the U.K. won’t update its international climate promises next year, saying they’re already ambitious enough to help limit global warming since pre-industrial times to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Addressing Parliament following two weeks of climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, Johnson said the summit had kept “alive” the temperature ambition that was first spelled out in the Paris Agreement in 2015. He also hailed the commitment made at the conference known as COP26, to “phase down” coal.

The summit’s conclusions included a call for almost 200 countries to “revisit and strengthen” their 2030 climate targets by the end of next year to ensure they align with the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Johnson told MPs on Monday the U.K. is “already compliant” due to its goals for both 2030 and 2035.

Over the past year, his government has unveiled a succession of promises, including to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels and to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

“If we can deliver on those then we believe we will be able to restrain our emissions,” he said in response to a question from Scottish National Party lawmaker Ian Blackford on whether the U.K. would “urgently” update its so-called Nationally Determined Contribution.

Johnson also said countries he didn’t identify are “dragging their heals on their Paris commitments.” As negotiations drew to a close last week, China and India teamed up to help water down the language on coal to say it should be “phased down,” rather than “phased out.”

“Is there still more to do? Of course there is: I am not for one moment suggesting we can safely close the book on climate change,” Johnson told Parliament. “This job will not be complete until the whole world has not only set off to reach net zero but arrived at the destination.”

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