COP26 President Alok Sharma has delivered his opening address as the global climate conference officially kicks off in Glasgow.
He warned that “climate change did not take time off” during the pandemic, calling rising temperatures a “wake up call for all of us” that is “unequivocally” caused by human action.
Leaders from across the world have arrived in Glasgow for the start of global climate change conference COP26 today.
Asked by the BBC’s Andrew Marr if he can convince world leaders to agree to action that will limit average temperature rises to 1.5C, Mr Sharma admitted that it will not be easy.
"We are heading towards two degrees but need to ensure we are heading lower than that," he said.
The United Nations – which hosts the conference – predicts that the world is heading towards average temperature rises of 2.7C. But Mr Sharma says this fails to take into account all of the net zero targets that countries have made.
Asked whether Cop26 would end with a deal, he told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips On Sunday programme: “That is what I’m driving towards and I think what I’ve always said is what we need to come out of Glasgow is saying with credibility that we have kept 1.5C alive.”
