IF we learned anything from Boris Johnson’s COP26 press conference - it’s that the negotiations aren’t going far enough.
Watching the 20-minute slot, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Johnson was there to answer questions about Tory sleaze, since that’s what every journalist asked him about.
But when he spoke about the state of negotiations, and what to expect as the summit heads into its final 48 hours, you can tell that the UK Government is setting up for a failure.
Gone are the cries of “this is humanity's last chance”, instead replaced with Johnson sounding caution - climate change can’t be solved overnight, and it won’t be solved here in Glasgow.
READ MORE: COP26: Boris Johnson says talks won't 'be enough' to tackle climate change
And why is that? Johnson started off his day with a call to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, urging them to “increase their ambition”.
This is a country which is reportedly causing a blockade in talks, and refusing to concede on phasing out fossil fuels - like oil, of which it is one of the world’s biggest producers.
What exactly was said on that call we will never know, but we can guess it was mostly empty words.
Maybe they shared a little joke about Cambo, the oil field the UK Government is no doubt waiting to sign off on once the summit is over.
Johnson's press conference was dominated by questions about Tory sleaze
And it’s clear from what we’ve heard from the summit over the past week or so that there has been no significant change on the position on fossil fuels.
Phasing out financing for fossil fuels is in the draft Glasgow agreement, for the first time, but it is nowhere near what is needed.
And it isn’t just about oil and gas, transport day focussed on moving to electric vehicles, we heard nothing about cycling or active travel, despite the activists ringing their bells loudly outside the conference just that morning.
The draft agreement barely skimmed the surface, and there was nothing radical in it.
READ MORE: Murdo Fraser admits frustrations with Boris Johnson government as sleaze row grows
And Johnson’s assertion that it’s “impossible” to fix climate change in one day shows he isn’t listening.
No, the issue and solutions aren’t clean cut, and there needs to be consensus among countries, but the way to do that is strong leadership and encouragement, to show the way.
Instead we have a Prime Minister who runs away from corruption scandals and tries to use the climate summit as a distraction from his own woes.
The Tories are the party of the rich, and the rich don’t want change because it will be them who need to make the most drastic changes.
Unfortunately for the rest of us, our future is in their hands.
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