Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call on ministers and negotiators to come together and bridge the gaps remaining to reach consensus at COP26, as he travels to Glasgow in the final days of the climate summit today (Wednesday 10 November).
The COP26 Glasgow visit will come as welcome diversion for Mr Johnson, who has been heavily criticised for his handling of Tory Party sleaze and corruption allegations over the last week.
Negotiators from 197 parties are in intensive talks to reach agreement on a range of key issues, including a common time frame for national commitments on emissions reductions and agreed methodology for countries to report on their climate action. These important technical points will help to ensure that commitments are translated into action.
They are also working to agree progress on finance for nations most vulnerable to climate change and to address the issue of loss and damage in developing countries.
The negotiations run alongside a series of government and private sector commitments on coal, cars, cash and trees made by throughout the two weeks of COP26 under the UK’s presidency, with the goal of keeping the 1.5C target alive.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Negotiating teams are doing the hard yards in these final days of COP26 to turn promises into action on climate change.
“There’s still much to do. Today I’ll be meeting with ministers and negotiators to hear about where progress has been made and where the gaps must be bridged.
“This is bigger than any one country and it is time for nations to put aside differences and come together for our planet and our people.
“We need to pull out all the stops if we’re going to keep 1.5C within our grasp.”
The Prime Minister will be joined by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Glasgow and will meet with representatives from the heads of delegations’ negotiating teams and the observer groups, which represent a cross-section of civil society.