COP26 underway as Boris Johnson says world at ‘one minute to midnight’ in tackling climate change

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke on the first day of the COP26 climate summit, which he deemed “critical” for taking action on environmental issues.

World leaders have arrived in Glasgow today to agree on solutions against the rising temperatures that threaten the livelihoods of millions of people around the world.

The goal is to keep a lid on global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (NASDAQ:CELH) over the course of this century.

Johnson told the BBC they need to move from “aspiration to action” as the world is at “one minute to midnight”.

The PM says it’s one minute to midnight on climate, but he & the Chancellor act like its 2.15 in the afternoon.

The Chancellor ignores the huge costs of not acting & won’t use green jobs to grow our economy – while the PM is all talk and no action. #COP26https://t.co/2dv6rOJ8ev

— Rachel Reeves (@RachelReevesMP) November 1, 2021

Among other speakers, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres told the conference that “our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink”.

“Either we stop it or it stops us. And it’s time to say, enough. Enough of killing ourselves with carbon. Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves,” he said.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon met with activist Greta Thunberg and commented that young people “must be heard loudly and clearly”.