UN climate summit in November last chance to have grip on climate change, warns UK chief

On Sunday, August 8, UK climate minister Alok Sharma said the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November is the last chance for the world to have a grip on climate change.

A few media outlets were critical of his recent travel schedule, including his exemption from COVID-19 self-isolation rules upon returning from countries on the red list. “You’re seeing on a daily basis what is happening across the world. Last year was the hottest on record, the last decade was the hottest decade on record,” he informed the Observer newspaper.

“I don’t think we’re out of time but I think we’re getting dangerously close to when we might be out of time,” he stated. Prior to the Glasgow talks, the minister said he was doing everything he could to reach a global consensus. “I have every week a large number of virtual meetings, but I can tell you that having in-person meetings with individual ministers is incredibly vital and actually impactful. It makes a vital difference, to build those personal relationships which are going to be incredibly important as we look to build consensus,”  the Indian-origin Cabinet minister, Alok Sharma, who is the President-designate of the United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP26 in Glasgow, said.

He spoke ahead of an upcoming report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world's leading authority on climate science, that will reveal the real impacts of extreme weather. “This [IPCC report] is going to be the starkest warning yet that human behaviour is alarmingly accelerating global warming and this is why COP26 has to be the moment we get this right. We can’t afford to wait two years, five years, 10 years - this is the moment,” Sharma stated.

Next decade 'decisive in terms of climate action'

“This is going to be a wake-up call for anyone who hasn’t yet understood why this next decade has to be absolutely decisive in terms of climate action. We will also get a pretty clear understanding that human activity is driving climate change at alarming rates. Every fraction of a degree rise [in temperature] makes a difference and that’s why countries have to act now,” he informed the newspaper.

Climate change must be addressed if the November summit in Scotland is to be successful, and 196 countries are expected to meet to discuss how to take action. Despite this, the UK is also facing opposition over its own fossil fuel plans, with campaigners expressing concerns about plans for further oil drilling.

“Future [fossil fuel] licences are going to have to adhere to the fact we have committed to going to net-zero by 2050 in legislation. There will be a climate check on any licences,” Sharma stated.