THE result of the COP26 negotiations will not "be enough" to truly tackle the climate crisis, Boris Johnson has said.
The Prime Minister made the admission as he visited the UN summit on Wednesday, and was dogged by questions on Tory sleaze during a press conference.
Asked about the climate crisis, Johnson admitted that despite negotiations getting off to a good start, it is now beginning to be “tough” as delegates drill into the details.
The three main issues under discussion are adaptation to climate change, mitigation of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and finance for developing countries who are bearing the brunt of the impact of global temperature rises.
READ MORE: COP26: Nicola Sturgeon urges Boris Johnson to stay at summit
The draft cover agreement was released on Wednesday morning, with environmental campaigners describing the document as “exceptionally weak” and “riddled with loopholes”.
Johnson admitted that negotiations were at a sticky stage and said hopes of reaching an agreement that would stop global warming at 1.5C are “in the balance”.
He said: “It is crucial now that we show high ambition, that’s what we’re trying to do, and the opportunity is there but the risk of failure if we fail to deliver an ambitious COP26 here in Glasgow is also colossal.
“And the risk of sliding back would be an absolute disaster for the planet. As we go into the final furlong of negotiations, that's when the horses change places,that’s the most difficult moment.
“There are three pillars that we need to get right, and they are interrelated, and I’m sure you all know what they are - adaptation, mitigation and finance.
“Our negotiators from around the world are working together to get a deal.
“I can’t say it’s going to be easy, I certainly can’t say that it’s going to be enough but we have to do absolutely everything we can.”
Johnson added that there had been a “surge of activity” when world leaders descended on the SEC Campus in Glasgow during the first two days of the summit, but that talks have stalled.
He said: “Things moved, there was the feeling of life under the keel, we went forward, we’re now finding things tough. But that doesn’t mean it's impossible to keep 1.5C alive.
“I think with sufficient energy and commitment and with leaders from around the world now ringing up negotiators and asking them to move in the ways that they can move and should move.
“I think we can achieve it but I’m not going to pretend to you that by any means it's a done deal.”
READ MORE: COP26: Nicola Sturgeon shares meeting with Nancy Pelosi and AOC
The Prime Minister added that the Glasgow summit “is not going to fix it in one go, we’re not going to arrest climate change right here right now, that is just impossible”.
He added: “There is the possibility that we will come away from this with the first genuine road map for a solution to anthropogenic climate change that I can think of in my lifetime.
“The most depressing thing about climate change has been that it doesn’t really look as though it's capable of being fixed any time soon.”
We told earlier how Johnson failed to draw a line under the corruption allegations engulfing his party during the press conference.
And, the Prime Minister was booed as he arrived in Glasgow on the first day of Westminster’s recess.
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