UK PM Johnson lauds COP26 summit, calls climate agreement 'death knell' for coal usage

On Sunday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the United Nations climate summit, saying that it is a game-changing deal that sounded the "death knell" for coal power. Ending coal use is viewed as critical to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming, rising seas and more extreme weather such as droughts, storms and wildfires. The agreement reached the Glasgow summit represents a watershed point in the usage of coal since most of Western Europe and North America have pledged to stop funding all overseas fossil fuel projects by this time next year, according to Jhonson.

However, the Glasgow Climate Accord of coal consumption was made weeker by India and China, two of the most coal-dependent countries in the world. The agreement, however, did not make that much of a difference, according to Johnson. Alok Sharma, President for COP26, on the other hand, was annoyed by it, according to Sky News, he stated that China and India would have to justify themselves on the issue of coal.

Enormous achievement to have 190 countries promise to phase out coal

At a press conference, Johnson stated that It is an enormous achievement to have 190 countries promise to phase down or phase out coal.  According to him, they all are going in the same general direction. He also admitted that some countries fell short of the summit's goals, acknowledging that the Glasgow meeting did not provide a complete solution to climate change, but he insisted that the world was undeniably moving in the right way.

The UK PM also stated that they could persuade and urge sovereign nations, but they can't force them to do something they don't want to do. He further said that it's their decision at the end of the day, and they have to stick to it. He and conference President Alok Sharma stressed that the Glasgow Climate Pact was the first time coal was addressed in a United Nations climate pact.

PM Johnson congratulates the leaders

Johnson congratulated the leaders, negotiators, and activists for COP26 and promised to work tirelessly to achieve the Paris Agreement's goals. He claimed that when the UK assumed the presidency of COP26, 30% of the world had committed to net-zero emissions. He also thanked Alok Sharma for his efforts to bring the countries together. He praised all countries that attended COP26 in response to the appeal to come together for the planet.

(Inputs from AP News)

Image: AP