Nicola Sturgeon has admitted there is "a mountain to climb" if COP26 is to be judged a success in limiting climate change.
The First Minister said there was a “significant gap” between ambitions to keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees and the current commitments from world leaders.
But she insisted she would work alongside Boris Johnson and other leaders to ensure the event, which is being hosted by the UK Government, was a "roaring success".
Delegates from around the world are beginning to gather in Glasgow ahead of the summit opening this weekend.
During a pre-summit press conference on Friday, the Record asked the SNP leader if there was a risk that COP26 could become shorthand for failing to tackle climate change.
She said: “I don’t think success at this summit can be taken for granted at all. And that’s probably an understatement.
“World leaders will gather here Sunday into Monday.
“And the position at the opening of the conference is one that sees a significant gap between where we need to get to to keep 1.5 degrees alive as the limit of global warming.”
Current commitments were not sufficient to keep global warming below two degrees, she said.
The First Minister continued: “If that gap can’t all be closed in Glasgow, then at the very least we need to come out of Glasgow with a clear process and timescale around the way in which it will be closed.
“In other words, keeping 1.5 alive.
“The next decade, between now and 2030, is critical if we want to keep 1.5 alive.”
She added: "There's a mountain to climb over the next two weeks in Glasgow, there's absolutely no doubt about that.
"And there's a massive responsibility on the part of every leader who comes here - because nobody is under any illusions about the urgency and the importance of what needs to be done."
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