In November last year, Sir Alex found that Patel had not always treated civil servants with “consideration and respect”…reports Ashis Ray
The London High Court has ruled against a petition filed by a trade union of senior civil servants for a judicial review of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to overrule an independent investigation, which found Priti Patel, the Indian origin Home Secretary in his cabinet, guilty of “bullying” (read as wanting things done against the rules), which is a sackable offence under the ministerial code.
The FDA Union filed the case against the fact that Johnson had gone against the conclusion reached by Sir Alex Allan, then his independent adviser on ministerial standards, to protect Patel.
The two-judge bench said: “The question for this court is whether the Prime Minister proceeded on the basis that conduct would fall within the description of bullying with paragraph 1.2 of the ministerial code if the person concerned was unaware of, or did not intend, the harm or offence caused.”
It added: “Reading the statement (made by Johnson at the time) as a whole, and in context, we do not consider that the Prime Minister misdirected himself in that way.”
In November last year, Sir Alex found that Patel had not always treated civil servants with “consideration and respect”.
He went on to say in his report to Johnson: “Her approach on occasions has amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying in terms of the impact felt by the individuals. To that extent, her behaviour has been in breach of the ministerial code, even if unintentionally.”
The Prime Minister is the final arbiter on such complaints. His interpretation was that Patel was “unaware” of the disquiet she had caused. And that he had received an assurance from her that she was “sorry for inadvertently upsetting those with whom she was working”.
This, though, was not the first time that Patel had been accused of bullying and had forced the government to pay out cash compensation for the injury inflicted.
Sir Alex had resigned after Johnson did not take action on his inference.
The FDA stated: “The court has determined that the Prime Minister did not acquit the Home Secretary of bullying, and that he did not reject the findings of Sir Alex Allan that her conduct amounted to bullying.”
Moscow has also been accused of helping to orchestrate a crisis that has left hundreds of migrants from the Middle East trapped on the Belarus-Poland border, reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday it would be a “tragic mistake” for Russia to embark on “military adventurism” on the borders of Poland and Ukraine, amid escalating regional tensions.
“What we’ve got to do is to make sure that everybody understands that the cost of miscalculation on the borders of both Ukraine and of Poland would be enormous,” Johnson told a panel of senior UK lawmakers.
“I think it would be a tragic, tragic mistake for the Kremlin to think there was anything to be gained by military adventurism.”
The British leader’s comments, during a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with a watchdog committee of MPs, came as the West grows increasingly concerned about Russian troop movements at the Ukrainian border.
Moscow has also been accused of helping to orchestrate a crisis that has left hundreds of migrants from the Middle East trapped on the Belarus-Poland border.
Thousands of troops have been deployed on both sides, and after Belarus recently held joint drills with Russian paratroopers.
Belarus, Germany hold talks
The Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held another telephone conversation about the problem of migrants at the borders of Belarus with EU countries.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke again with Belarus' Alexander Lukashenko. She stressed the need to let the UN and the EU provide aid to migrants stranded at the Belarus-Poland border.
The two spoke on Monday for the first time since Lukashenko's contentious re-election. pic.twitter.com/sbMxwOOfPe
According to a Belarus Today report, the two political leaders agreed that the problem would be brought up to the level of Belarus and the EU, and officials would immediately enter into negotiations to resolve the existing problem. Refugees’ wishes to obtain asylum in Germany would be addressed in the same context.
Thousands of refugees, with most of them coming from the Middle East, are trying to enter Poland, Lithuania and other EU countries from Belarus. On November 8, thousands of refugees seeking asylum in Germany camped on the border with Poland.
EU foreign ministers agree on new sanctions
Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) have agreed on new sanctions against Belarus over the migrant crisis, the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said.
Addressing a press conference after the ministers’ meeting on Monday, he said the new set of sanctions had been “politically adopted” and “will be finalized in the coming days.” The sanctions will affect “quite an important number” of individuals and entities, he added.
So far, 166 individuals and 15 entities have been designated under the EU’s sanctions on Belarus, according to the bloc’s external action service.
The Polish Defence Ministry said that the number of migrants gathered at Kuznica has been steadily growing. The latest reports estimated their number at between 2,000 and 4,000.
This candidate, mentioned by Nokes was UK PM’s father who was later failed to get selected…reports Asian Lite News.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s father Stanley Johnson has been accused by a senior British Conservative lawmaker of touching her inappropriately at the party’s annual conference in 2003 when both of them were parliamentary candidates ahead of an election. As per Sky News report, a former minister and chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, Caroline Nokes said that the incident took place at the Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool back in 2003 when she was in her early 30s.
Nokes represented Romsey and Southampton North in the House of Commons since 2010 and was simultaneously the prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency before the general election of 2005. In an interview with Sky News, she recalled saying, “I can remember a really prominent man – at the time the Conservative candidate for Teignbridge in Devon – smacking me on the backside about as hard as he could and going, ‘oh, Romsey, you’ve got a lovely seat’.”
This candidate, mentioned by Nokes was UK PM’s father who was later failed to get selected. Sky News even approached Stanley Johnson for comment in relation to the allegation and he responded saying, “I have no recollection of Caroline Nokes at all – but there you go. And no reply… Hey ho, good luck and thanks.” However, describing her recollection, Nokes said, “I would have been in my early 30s, so old enough, old enough to call it out.”
Nokes added, “I now regard it as a duty, an absolute duty, to call out wherever you see it. Be the noisy, aggravating, aggressive woman in the room because if I’m not prepared to do that, then my daughter won’t be prepared to do that… you do get to a point where you go ‘up with this, I will not put’.”
The senior Conservative MP made the remarks in the course of a cross-party panel discussion hosted by Sky News including four prominent female lawmakers about how to confront violence against women in the wake of the murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard. Apart from Nokes, the discussion also featured Labour MP’s Jess Phillips and Rosena Allin-Khan and Conservative MP Fay Jones.
“The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre are now increasing the UK’s threat level from substantial to severe,” Patel told local media…reports Asian Lite News.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the UK will never give in to those who seek to divide the country as on Sunday the deadly blast took place in a taxi outside a hospital in Liverpool. The British officials are treating the blast as a terror incident. The incident is a stark reminder of the need for all of us to remain utterly vigilant, Johnson said during a press conference here on Monday.
The Prime Minister also said that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has raised UK’s threat level from substantial to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. Expressing his gratitude to the emergency services for reacting to the Liverpool incident, Johnson said: “On behalf of the whole country, I want to pay tribute to the emergency services, who responded as always with such speed and professionalism.”
Earlier on Sunday, authorities arrested three people in connection with the car explosion in Liverpool. A car had exploded near the Women’s Hospital in Liverpool, leaving one man dead and another one injured on Sunday.
Terror threat level raised to ‘severe’
The UK’s terror threat level has been upgraded from “substantial” to “severe” following an explosion outside a Liverpool hospital that had been declared a terrorist incident.
Monday’s upgrade, confirmed by Home Secretary Priti Patel, means further attacks are judged to be “highly likely”.
“The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre are now increasing the UK’s threat level from substantial to severe,” Patel told local media.
“And there’s a reason for that, and that reason is because what we saw yesterday is the second incident in a month.”
The “severe” level is the second highest alert in the UK, whose five-level terrorism threat alert system consists of “low, moderate, substantial, severe and critical”.
Sunday’s explosion outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital was caused by “the ignition of an explosive device” that was brought into the vehicle by a male passenger, said Russ Jackson, chief of counter-terrorism unit in northwest England.
The male passenger died in the explosion and the taxi driver managed to escape.
Home Secretary Priti Patel says the UK's terror threat level has been raised from "substantial" to "severe".
The move follows an explosion outside a hospital in Liverpool on Sunday, which police have declared a terrorist incident.
The police believe they know the identity of the passenger, but were yet to confirm.
The motivation for the incident remains unclear.
Four men in their 20s have been arrested under the Terrorism Act.
The injured cab driver, who locked the passenger in the car during the incident, has been hailed a hero.
“The taxi driver, in his heroic efforts, has managed to divert what could have been an absolutely awful disaster at the hospital,” said Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson.
Over 100 countries have agreed to cut their emissions of methane by 30 per cent by 2030…writes Vishal Gulati.
With the second and last week at Glasgow pivotal for world leaders who are hard at work on climate priorities — to keep global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as required by the 2015 Paris Agreement, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is urging countries to keep up the momentum on the fight against climate change at the COP26 summit.
The first week of the 26th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) under the UK Presidency came to a close on Sunday, which saw around 120 leaders gather for the World Leaders Summit as well as negotiators, officials and ministers come together to make progress on the shared goal of limiting global temperatures to 1.5 degrees.
In the first week good progress has been made so far, including new commitments to net zero by middle of the century, which means 90 per cent of the world economy is covered, triple the figure when the UK took on the COP Presidency.
More than 120 countries, covering 88 per cent of the world’s forests, have agreed to end and reverse deforestation. Countries representing more than 70 per cent of the world’s economy are committed to delivering clean and affordable technology everywhere by 2030 in the most polluting sectors.
Over 100 countries have agreed to cut their emissions of methane by 30 per cent by 2030.
Also the past week saw new commitments to increase finance to support developing countries to deal with the impacts of climate change and implement ambitious emissions-reductions plans.
More than 20 countries have made commitments for the first time to phase out coal power, including five of the world’s top 20 coal power-using countries, and at least 25 countries and public finance institutions commit to ending international public support for the unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022.
Forty-five nations have pledged urgent action and investment to protect nature and shift to more sustainable ways of farming, as well as over 100 countries now signed up to protect at least 30 per cent of the global ocean by 2030.
The views of over 40,000 young climate leaders have been presented to ministers, negotiators and officials.
Marking this halfway point in the summit, Prime Minister Johnson said: “There is one week left for COP26 to deliver for the world, and we must all pull together and drive for the line.
“We have seen nations bring ambition and action to help limit rising temperatures, with new pledges to cut carbon and methane emissions, end deforestation, phase out coal and provide more finance to countries most vulnerable to climate change.
“But we cannot underestimate the task at hand to keep 1.5C alive. Countries must come back to the table this week ready to make the bold compromises and ambitious commitments needed.
“Attention turns to negotiations this coming week. These negotiations are incredibly complicated, and notoriously hard. Teams from the UK and 195 other countries plus the EU will work to reach collective agreement on more than 200 pages of text.
“They will be negotiating the issues left open by the Paris Agreement in 2015, like the process for tracking how all countries are keeping their climate commitments and how we create a fairer global system so no nation is disadvantaged by being more ambitious on cutting emissions.
We've made good progress at the @COP26 World Leaders Summit, but the work is just beginning.
“Everyone has to agree, or nothing is agreed. But the progress in the first week of COP has put us in a strong position.”
The UK’s COP26 Presidency programme continues this week, with the spotlight put on transport, adaptation, gender, science, and cities and regions.
The UK has been leading the way and setting a high bar for other countries to follow — including being the first major economy to commit in law to net zero, setting one of the most ambitious targets to cut emissions by 68 per cent by 2030, phasing out coal power by 2024, ending the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, halting deforestation by 2030, and providing 11.6bn pounds in finance — with an extra 1bn pounds if the economy grows as forecast — to countries on the frontline of climate change.
The rating of Johnson’s party, the Conservatives, has dropped by 4 points to 35% since September, while the Labor Party stayed at the same level with 36%…reports Asian Lite News.
The rating of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson reached its lowest point since 2019 when the politician came to power, the UK Evening Standard newspaper reported on Monday, citing the poll by the Ipsos MORI market research company.
The poll showed that 55% of adult UK citizens disagree that Johnson possesses the traits that are necessary for a good prime minister, however, 34% have the opposite opinion. The ratio makes a net score of -21, which is the lowest since June 2019, one month before Johnson became the prime minister. Additionally, 62% of Britons said they are dissatisfied with Johnson’s actions, and it is the worst score since October 2020.
The rating of Johnson’s party, the Conservatives, has dropped by 4 points to 35% since September, while the Labor Party stayed at the same level with 36%.
However, the Evening Standard suggests that the Labor Party and its leader, Keir Starmer, have not succeeded yet in winning over voters, despite the worsening results of Johnson and his party.
Almost a half of respondents assume that the government is not coping with the pandemic well, and the number of those unhappy with anti-COVID-19 policies rose by 12 points compared with September.
The survey involved 1,007 UK citizens aged 18 and more and was conducted by phone from October 29 until November 4.
Johnson, who is facing criticism for returning to London by plane and not by train later on Tuesday, claimed that the jet he will be flying in uses 35% sustainable aviation fuel, reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday slammed current targets on aviation sustainable fuel as “pathetic” and claimed the sector can do better than that to reduce carbon emissions.
“The target at the moment is to get to 10 p sustainable aviation fuel for the whole world by 2030. How pathetic is that! We can do better than that, folks,” Johnson told world leaders attending the high-level segment of the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
In his address to an event aimed at rallying more action on green technology, the COP26 host urged participants, including US President Joe Biden, the Duke of Edinburgh and Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, that “we should be far, far more ambitious,” after admitting that aviation is a “tough nut to crack.”
Johnson, who is facing criticism for returning to London by plane and not by train later on Tuesday, claimed that the jet he will be flying in uses 35% sustainable aviation fuel.
He also compared the lack of progress made in the aviation sector regarding fuel to the achievement made by the UK in power generation, noting that when he was a kid, the UK got 80% percent of its power from coal, and today the figure is down to 1% and will be zero by 2024.
Johnson hails India’s net zero climate commitment
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s climate commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions and for half of India’s energy to come from renewables by 2030.
Delivering India’s national statement at the World Leaders’ Summit in Glasgow on Monday, Prime Minister Modi for the first time declared India’s goal to achieve the net zero target of balancing the country’s energy consumption by 2070.
He also laid out “Panchamrit” or five key points of heading towards this target, including increasing India’s non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030 and reducing its total projected carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes.
“India has today announced ambitious plans for half its energy to come from renewables by 2030. This will cut carbon emissions by a billion tonnes, contributing to a worldwide decade of delivery on climate change,” Boris Johnson said on Twitter after PM Modi’s speech to the COP26 climate summit.
We've made good progress at the @COP26 World Leaders Summit, but the work is just beginning.
“PM Narendra Modi has for the first time made a commitment for India to become net zero, meaning 90 per cent of the world’s economy is now committed to this goal. The UK will work with India to make even more progress, including through the Clean Green Initiative we discussed today COP26,” he said.
The new UK India Green Guarantee is set to add GBP 750 million for green projects across India, announced by Johnson at the United Nations (UN) summit.
Modi also committed to reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45 per cent as part of the five key climate goals, which the Prime Minister described as “unprecedented action by India on climate action”.
The pledge to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation is backed by almost £14 billion ($19.2 billion) in public and private funding, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
In the biggest step forward in protecting the world’s forests in a generation, more than 100 leaders will commit to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 at an event convened by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson at COP26 Climate Change Conference today.
The pledge is backed by almost £14 billion ($19.2 billion) in public and private funding.
Countries spanning from the northern forests of Canada and Russia to the tropical rainforests of Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will endorse the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use. Together, they contain 85% of the world’s forests, an area of over 13 million square miles.
Forests are absorbing around one-third of the global CO2 released from burning fossil fuels every year, but the world is losing them at an alarming rate. An area of forest the size of 27 football pitches is lost every minute.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to say at the Forest & Land Use event at COP26: “Today, at COP26, leaders have signed a landmark agreement to protect and restore the earth’s forests.”
“These great teeming ecosystems – these cathedrals of nature – are the lungs of our planet. Forests support communities, livelihoods and food supply, and absorb the carbon we pump into the atmosphere. They are essential to our very survival,”
“With today’s unprecedented pledges, we will have a chance to end humanity’s long history as nature’s conqueror, and instead become its custodian,” Johnson will say.
The commitment will be supported by a pledge to provide £8.75bn ($12bn) of public finance from 12 countries, including the UK, from 2021 – 2025. This will support activities in developing countries, including restoring degraded land, tackling wildfires and supporting the rights of indigenous communities.
This will go alongside at least £5.3 billion ($7.2 billion) of newly-mobilised private sector funding. CEOs from more than 30 financial institutions with over $8.7 trillion of global assets – including Aviva, Schroders and Axa – will also commit to eliminate investment in activities linked to deforestation.
President of Colombia Iván Duque said: “Colombia is proud to endorse the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. The Declaration is a landmark commitment from countries to work together to end deforestation and all land degradation within the next decade.”
“Never before have so many leaders, from all regions, representing all types of forests, joined forces in this way and Colombia is committed to playing its part. We will enshrine in law a commitment to net-zero deforestation by 2030 – one of the most ambitious commitments in Latin America – and to protecting 30% of our land and ocean resources by 2030.”
“Now we must all work in partnership with businesses, the finance sector, smallholder farmers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to create the conditions for forest-positive economies to grow and thrive,” he added.
President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo said: “Indonesia is blessed as the most carbon rich country in the world on vast rainforests, mangroves, oceans and peatlands. We are committed to protecting these critical carbon sinks and our natural capital for future generations.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns to his seat next to David Attenborough after giving the opening statement at the COP26 summit. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street
“We call on all countries to support sustainable development paths that strengthen the livelihoods of communities – especially indigenous, women and smallholders,” he added.
The UK will commit £1.5bn over five years to support the forests pledge, including £350m for tropical forests in Indonesia, and £200m for the LEAF Coalition.
The UK will also contribute £200m, alongside 11 other donors, as part of a new £1.1 billion ($1.5bn) fund to protect the Congo Basin. The area is home to the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world which is threatened by industrial logging, mining and agriculture.
Governments representing 75% of global trade in key commodities that can threaten forests – such as palm oil, cocoa and soya – will also sign up to a new Forests, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Statement. The 28 governments are committing to a common set of actions to deliver sustainable trade and reduce pressure on forests, including support for smallholder farmers and improving the transparency of supply chains.
Currently almost a quarter (23%) of global emissions come from land use activity, such as logging, deforestation and farming. Protecting forests and ending damaging land use is one of the most important things the world can do to limit catastrophic global warming, while also protecting the lives and futures of the 1.6 billion people worldwide – nearly 25% of the world’s population – who rely on forests for their livelihoods.
Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Store said Norway will continue and further develop its International Climate and Forest Initiative at high levels until 2030.
The Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watch HM The Queen video message to the COP26 World leaders as they join the Prime Minister Boris Johnson at an evening Royal Reception at Kelvingrove Museum as part of the COP26 World Leaders Summit Day in Glasgow. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
“We’re excited to be part of a growing coalition of donors and companies mobilising to reduce deforestation and enable a just rural transition. I am particularly pleased that we are joining forces to secure Indigenous Peoples’ rights and increase the recognition of their role as forest guardians,” he added.
Among those speaking alongside the Prime Minister Boris Johnson are Prince Charles, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, Columbian President Ivan Duque, US President Joe Biden, Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
A new temporary business rates relief for the hospitality industry, a freezeon fuel and alcohol duties and increasing the country’s National Living Wage to GBP 9.50 from April 2022, were among some of the key announcements, reports Asian Lite News
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered his Autumn Budget to the House of Commons on Wednesday, with the promise of delivering stronger growth for the pandemic-hit British economy.
While warning of some ‘challenging months’ ahead with inflation expected to rise, the minister unveiled an extra GBP 150 billion investment as part of the Budget and Spending Review.
A new temporary business rates relief for the hospitality industry, a freeze on fuel and alcohol duties and increasing the country’s National Living Wage to GBP 9.50 from April 2022, were among some of the key announcements.
“Today’s Budget delivers a stronger economy for the British people: stronger growth, with the UK economy recovering faster than our major competitors. Stronger public finances, with our national debt finally under control. Stronger employment, with fewer people out of work and more people in work. Growth up, jobs up, and debt down: let there be no doubt our plan is working,” said Sunak.
Sunak, in charge of Britain’s economic response to the pandemic, said the Budget was designed to create jobs, improve skills, tackle health service backlogs, put more police on the streets, and build new homes, hospitals, and schools.
The Treasury said its latest figures show that the economy is on track to reach pre-pandemic levels by early next year, with unemployment peaking at less than half what was initially predicted.
An economy fit for a new age of optimism.
Where the only limit to our potential is the effort we are prepared to put in and the sacrifices we are prepared to make
Among some of the measures expected to prove popular include an end to a duty premium on sparkling wines and a cut in the cost of a pint of beer of 3 pence.
“Over the last decade, consumption of sparkling wines like prosecco has doubled. English sparkling wine alone has increased almost tenfold. It’s clear they are no longer the preserve of wealthy elites,” noted Sunak, himself a teetotaller.
“And they’re no stronger than still wines. So, I’m going to end the irrational duty premium of 28 per cent that they currently pay. Sparkling wines wherever they are produced will now pay the same duty as still wines of equivalent strength,” he said.
Sunak announced GBP 5.9 billion to tackle the National Health Service (NHS) backlog of non-emergency tests and procedures, modernise digital technology and ensure there are at least 100 community diagnostic centres to help people across England get health checks, scans and tests closer to their homes.
Support for education
To support pupils and teachers, he announced an additional GBP 4.7 billion invested in the core schools budget in England. To boost wages, skills funding will increase by a total over the Parliament of GBP 3.8 billion compared to 2019-20. And, for parents, he said GBP 302 million will fund new early years programmes including bespoke breastfeeding services and parent-infant mental support, and funding to rollout Family Hubs across England.
Sunak said, “The evidence is compelling that the first 1,001 days of a child’s life are the most important. We’re confirming GBP 150mn to support training and development for the entire early years workforce. To help up to 300,000 more families facing multiple needs, we’re investing an extra GBP 200mn in the Supporting Families programme. And we will provide over GBP 200mn a year to continue the holiday activity and food programme.”
Opposition slams Budget
The Opposition Labour Party, represented by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves in place of party Leader Keir Starmer who is self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19, responded to the Budget as asking British people “to pay so much for so little.”
With reference to the duty cut on sparkling wines and air passenger duty on domestic flights, Reeves shot back: “At least the bankers on short haul flights sipping champagne will be cheering today. Never has a Chancellor asked the British people to pay so much for so little. This country deserves better.”
The Opposition welcomed the increase in the minimum wage but said the government needed to go “further and faster” and should have moved to a rise of at least GBP 10 an hour.
Under the UK’s presidency of COP this year, the premier said, 80 percent of the global economy had committed to net zero emissions by 2050, up from 30 percent before…reports Asian Lite News.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday said the COP26 climate summit starting next week in Scotland could yet fail as he urged more countries to step forward with plans of action.
Johnson will host more than 120 leaders in Glasgow early next week, before the UN meeting spends a fortnight tackling the grinding work of deciding how to limit temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“It is of course correct that COP26 is both unbelievably important for our planet but also very difficult, and it’s in the balance,” he told parliament, having played down expectations in recent days.
Ahead of a separate G20 summit this weekend in Rome, Johnson said 17 of its 20 members had now produced plans to curb their carbon emissions – although China and India remain significant outliers.
Under the UK’s presidency of COP this year, the premier said, 80 percent of the global economy had committed to net zero emissions by 2050, up from 30 percent before.
“And every day as I talk to international leaders, we hear further commitments to make those solid commitments that the world will need,” he said, noting recent commitments by Australia, Indonesia and Russia.
“Whether it is enough, I’m afraid it is too early to say,” Johnson added.
Ed Miliband, business spokesman for the opposition Labour party, attacked Johnson for sending the wrong message ahead of COP26 by cutting Britain’s aid budget.
Financial assistance from richer countries for developing nations to fight climate change is one of the pivotal issues coming up in Glasgow.
“COP26 is not a glorified photo opportunity,” Miliband told Johnson, demanding “climate delivery, not climate delay”.
Miliband was standing in for Labour leader Keir Starmer at the weekly session of prime minister’s questions, after Starmer tested positive for Covid-19.
