COP26: Boris Johnson says 'no excuses' for not tackling climate change

Boris Johnson has warned world leaders that there are "no compelling excuses" for failing to take action on global warming.

Speaking at the close of the G20 summit in Rome, he said some progress was made in the past few days - but there was still a "huge way" to go.

The prime minister's comments come ahead of his departure for the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

Mr Johnson added immediate action was needed to halve emissions by 2030.

He said: "There are no compelling excuses for our procrastination.

"Not only have we acknowledged the problem, we have already seen first hand the devastation that climate change causes - heatwaves and droughts to wildfires and hurricanes.

"And unlike many other global challenges, the solution to climate change is clear - it lies in consigning dirty fossil fuels like coal to history, in ditching gas-guzzling modes of transport and recognising the role nature plays in preserving life on this planet and enhancing the power through renewable energy rather than orchestrating its destruction.

"If we don't act now, the Paris Agreement will be looked at in the future, not as the moment that humanity opened its eyes to the problem but the moment we flinched and turned away."

Mr Johnson acknowledged the G20 summit had "made some progress" but said there was still "a huge way still to go".

"We all know that we have the technology, what we need to do now is to raise the finance but, above all, we need the political will in Glasgow to make those commitments and to keep alive the hope of restraining the growth in our temperatures to 1.5 degrees."

Asked what he thought the chances were of success at COP26, the prime minister said it was "about six out of 10, it's nip and tuck, it's touch and go".

He added the target of keeping the rise in global temperatures under 1.5C was "very much in the balance".

"Currently, let's be in no doubt, we are not going to hit it and we have to be honest with ourselves," Mr Johnson said. "So we've got to keep that hope alive."