(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said countries must match action to their promises on fighting climate change as he kept pressure on China, the biggest emitter, to move faster in reducing greenhouse gases.
The premier said he's “cautiously optimistic” about progress made so far at the United Nations COP26 talks in Glasgow, Scotland. He touted advances including an emissions reduction promise by India, an agreement to end “the great chainsaw massacre” on forests, and pledges of carbon neutrality by countries representing almost 90% of global emissions.
“Those commitments will be 100% useless if the promises made here are not followed up with real action,” Johnson told reporters at the conference. He warned against getting “caught up in the atmosphere of exaggerated enthusiasm.”
The prime minister's tone marks a change from the run-up to the summit, when he said the discussions would be “extremely tough.” He came into the conference targeting progress in four key areas: phasing out coal and fossil fuel-engine cars, increasing climate aid and protecting forests -- or coal, cars, cash and trees. On Tuesday, he said “we can certainly begin to tick three of those boxes.”
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Johnson said the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Glasgow doesn't mean the world's biggest greenhouse gas polluter is avoiding the issue of climate change. Nevertheless, he said China has to step up its ambition, referring to a Chinese pledge to peak its emissions by 2030 “or before.”
Pressure on China
“The question is how much before,” Johnson said. “There's a world of difference between peaking in 2030 your emissions from China and peaking in 2025. So that's where the conversation is, that's where we're keeping the pressure up.”
Johnson dismissed the idea of holding a referendum on the U.K.'s drive toward net-zero emissions by 2050. When asked about the cost of doing so, he pointed to the higher cost of taking no action.
“If we don't fix our climate, it will be an economic catastrophe as well as an environmental catastrophe, “ he said, noting that there's now an opportunity to create thousands of jobs in green technology. “We can use this moment to trigger greater prosperity.”
The premier likened the battle between humanity and climate change to a football match in which humans were losing 5-1, before the Glasgow conference. The world now has “pulled back a goal or perhaps even 2,” he said.
“I think we're going to be able to take this thing to extra time, because there's no doubt that progress has been made,” Johnson said, while warning against “false hope” as the talks continue though next week.
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