Boris Johnson has been urged to step up efforts to secure agreement on stemming global warming, amid concern in some corners of Whitehall over a lack of urgency ahead of a crucial international summit he will chair in November.
With less than 100 days to go to the Glasgow conference, there were warnings that hopes of a landmark deal may be unravelling.
And Mr Johnson’s independent climate change adviser warned it was time for him to use “every diplomatic lever” to secure pledges from fellow leaders on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases and financial support to help developing countries adapt.
One Whitehall insider said the government’s response to the climate crisis would have been deadly if it had been applied to the pandemic, warning: “If we had the same approach on Covid, we would still be debating which groups would get the first vaccine trials. We are out of time.”
A spokesperson for Alok Sharma, the minister Mr Johnson has appointed president of the Cop26 summit, insisted that progress was being made – with countries accounting for 70 per cent of world GDP now committed to net zero emissions or carbon neutrality. But the spokesperson acknowledged: “There is more to do.”
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A poll for The Independent found that a majority of UK voters do not trust Mr Johnson to reach a deal. And despite the prime minister’s claims to have put Cop26 at the heart of his agenda for 2021, some 50 per cent of those surveyed by Savanta ComRes said they knew little or nothing about the summit or its goals.
The United Nations summit, co-hosted with Italy, will – Covid restrictions permitting – bring up to 30,000 people from 200 countries to Glasgow with the aim of improving on the breakthrough Paris Accord of 2015, which committed the world to keeping warming below 2C.
Nations that are party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have been urged to come armed with ambitious 2030 emission reductions targets that align with reaching net zero carbon by the middle of the century and keeping a maximum 1.5C increase in temperatures within reach.
And richer countries are under pressure to finally make good on an unmet promise to mobilise at least $100bn in climate finance per year by 2020 to help the developing world adapt and prepare.
But lack of progress at last month’s Johnson-hosted G7 summit in Cornwall has already sparked alarm, with UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa declaring in its wake that the world was still “very far away from being fully confident of having a full success at Cop26” with no clear sign on when the financing pledge will be fulfilled.
While the UK, EU, US and China have announced new and ambitious emission reduction goals, more than 90 countries are yet to set out new targets and others – like Brazil, Russia and Australia – have offered only minor adjustments their Paris promises.
Today’s poll confirms strong public support for action on climate change, with almost three-quarters (73 per cent) rating the aims of net zero emissions by 2050 and a 1.5C limit to warming as very important. Some 60 per cent voiced confidence that action now could rein in heating, compared to just 10 per cent who thought mankind could do little or nothing to halt rising temperatures.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
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UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan
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UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Great Britain’s Mallory Franklin celebrates on the podium after she won silver in the women’s C1 Canoe Slalom at Tokyo Olympics
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UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status
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UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants.
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UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel
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UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London
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UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families
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UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk
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UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer
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UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London
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UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England
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UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent
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UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave
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UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool
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UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a ￡7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe
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UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the world’s first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the ‘Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein’ experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July
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UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford
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UK news in pictures 12 July 2021 A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington in Manchester
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UK news in pictures 11 July 2021 England's Bukayo Saka with manager Gareth Southgate after the match
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UK news in pictures 10 July 2021 Australia’s Ashleigh Barty holds the trophy after winning her final Wimbledon match against Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova
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UK news in pictures 9 July 2021 England 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst stands on top of a pod on the lastminute.com London Eye wearing a replica 1966 World Cup final kit and looking out towards Wembley Stadium in the north of the capital, where the England football team will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday
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UK news in pictures 8 July 2021 Karolina Pliskova celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka during the women's singles semifinals match on day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London
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UK news in pictures 7 July 2021 The residents of Towfield Court in Feltham have transformed their estate with England flags for the Euro 2020 tournament
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UK news in pictures 6 July 2021 A couple are hit by a wave as they walk along the promenade in Dover, Kent, during strong winds
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UK news in pictures 5 July 2021 Alexander Zverev playing against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round of the Gentlemen's Singles on Court 1 on day seven of Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
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UK news in pictures 4 July 2021 Aaron Carty and the Beyoncé Experience perform on stage during UK Black Pride at The Roundhouse in London
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UK news in pictures 3 July 2021 England’s Jordan Henderson celebrates after scoring his first international goal, his side’s fourth against Ukraine during the Euro 2020 quarter final match at the Olympic stadium in Rome
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UK news in pictures 2 July 2021 Dan Evans serves against Sebastian Korda during their men’s singles third round match at Wimbledon
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UK news in pictures 1 July 2021 Prince William, left and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London
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UK news in pictures 30 June 2021 Dancers from the Billingham Festival and Balbir Singh Dance Company, during a preview for the The Two Fridas, UK Summer tour, presented by Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance in collaboration with Balbir Singh Dance Company, inspired by the life and times of female artists Frida Kahlo and Amrita Sher-Gil , which opens on July 10 at Ushaw Historic House, Chapel and Gardens in Durham
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UK news in pictures 29 June 2021 A boy kicks a soccer ball in front of the balconies and landings adorned with predominantly England flags at the Kirby housing estate in London
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UK news in pictures 28 June 2021 Emergency services attend a fire nearby the Elephant & Castle Rail Station in London
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UK news in pictures 27 June 2021 People walk along Regent Street in central London during a #FreedomToDance march organised by Save Our Scene, in protest against the government’s perceived disregard for the live music industry throughout the coronavirus pandemic
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UK news in pictures 26 June 2021 A pair of marchers in a Trans Pride rally share a smile in Soho
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UK news in pictures 25 June 2021 Tim Duckworth during the Long Jump in the decathlon during day one of the Muller British Athletics Championships at Manchester Regional Arena
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UK news in pictures 24 June 2021 A member of staff poses with the work 'The Death of Cash' by XCopy at the 'CryptOGs: The Pioneers of NFT Art' auction at Bonhams auction house in London
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UK news in pictures 23 June 2021 Bank of England Chief Cashier Sarah John displays the new 50-pound banknote at Daunt Books in London
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UK news in pictures 22 June 2021 Actor Isaac Hampstead Wright sits on the newly unveiled Game of Throne's "Iron Throne" statue, in Leicester Square, in London, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. The statue is the tenth to join the trail and commemorates 10 years since the TV show first aired, as well as in anticipation for HBO's release of House of the Dragon set to be released in 2022
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UK news in pictures 21 June 2021 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon receives her second dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine
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UK news in pictures 20 June 2021 Joyce Paton, from Peterhead, on one of the remaining snow patches on Meall a’Bhuiridh in Glencoe during the Midsummer Ski. The event, organised by the Glencoe Mountain Resort, is held every year on the weekend closest to the Summer Solstice
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UK news in pictures 19 June 2021 England appeal LBW during day four of their Women’s International Test match against India at the Bristol County Ground
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UK news in pictures 18 June 2021 Scotland fans let off flares in Leicester Square after Scotland's Euro 2020 match against England ended in a 0-0 draw
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UK news in pictures 17 June 2021 Members of the Tootsie Rollers jazz band pose on the third day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meet
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UK news in pictures 16 June 2021 A woman and child examine life-size sculptures of a herd of Asian elephants set up by the Elephant Family and The Real Elephant Collective to help educate the public on the elephants and the ways in which humans can better protect the planets biodiversity, in Green Park, central London
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UK news in pictures 15 June 2021 Hydrotherapists with Dixie, a seven-year-old Dachshund who is being treated for back problems common with the breed, in the hydrotherapy pool during a facility at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home's in Battersea, London, to view their new hydrotherapy centre
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UK news in pictures 14 June 2021 Scotland's David Marshall in the net after Czech Republic's Patrik Schick scored their second goal at Hampden Park
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UK news in pictures 13 June 2021 Raheem Sterling celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring England’s first goal of the Euro 2021 tournament in a match against Croatia at Wembley
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UK news in pictures 12 June 2021 Oxfam campaigners wearing costumes depicting G7 leaders pose for photographers on Swanpool Beach near Falmouth, Cornwall
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UK news in pictures 11 June 2021 Members of the Vaxinol team, who are commercial, industrial and residential cleaners specialising in disinfection and decontamination, use electrostatic spray systems to deep clean the Only Fools Bar in Liverpool
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And majorities said they were ready to make – or have already made – climate-friendly changes to their lifestyles, such as limiting themselves to one return flight a year (62 per cent), halving their clothing purchases (73 per cent) and cutting use of electronic devices (61 per cent).
But just 42 per cent said they trusted Mr Johnson to get a deal on global warming, against 51 per cent who said he would not. Mr Sharma was trusted to get a deal by only 21 per cent, with 27 per cent saying they did not expect him to succeed and 51 per cent saying they had never heard of him. Only US president Joe Biden was trusted by more than half (53 per cent) to deliver.
The chair of the government’s independent advisory Climate Change Committee, Lord Deben, told The Independent the UK must apply “the strongest possible leadership” to push for a positive result at Glasgow.
“It is encouraging to see the British public recognise the urgency and show willingness to take actions to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change impacts,” said the Conservative peer, who served as John Gummer in the Thatcher and Major governments
“The Glasgow Cop26 summit is absolutely critical to delivering on global climate action.
“It is essential that the UK applies the strongest possible leadership from the very highest level of government and continues to set an example to other countries. We need to bring forward clear policies across all sectors to deliver our world leading targets, and use every diplomatic lever available to secure firm and ambitious commitments on emissions reductions and climate change finance.”
Ed Miliband, who leads on Cop26 for Labour, said the lack of faith shown by voters in Mr Johnson’s ability to get a deal was “entirely justified”.
He told The Independent: “Our credibility on the world stage rests on the example we set at home. And the example Boris Johnson is setting is being off track on our climate targets, failing to deliver a green recovery, and cutting the Green Homes Grant and vital overseas aid spending.
“Cop26 is not the international photo opportunity the prime minister seems to think it is. It is a complex negotiation to achieve meaningful global action to prevent climate disaster, which requires commitment at home and hard diplomacy. In the less than 100 days left to Cop26, he must step up.”
But a spokesperson for the UK’s Cop26 presidency insisted that Mr Sharma was putting in the diplomatic work to get results.
“The Cop president-designate is working to ensure the summit is a success and all countries come to Glasgow prepared to commit to action which will limit global temperature rise to 1.5C, enable communities and natural habitats to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and work together to deliver action,” said the spokesperson.
“We are seeing progress. Countries representing around 70 per cent of the world’s economy have now committed to reaching net zero emissions or carbon neutrality. When the UK took the role of incoming Cop presidency in December 2019, coverage was just 26 per cent of world GDP.
“There is more to do. We will continue to work tirelessly to raise climate ambition around the world and ensure Cop26 is successful, inclusive and protects our planet for future generations.”
Greenpeace UK senior climate campaigner Ariana Densham said today’s poll showed that “the public aren’t being fooled, and neither will other world leaders”.
“Unless a barrage of plans, policies and cash for meeting our climate commitments is provided over the next three months, there’s a risk that the government’s lack of credibility as chair of the talks means it’ll all unravel in Glasgow,” she said.
“People are overwhelmingly concerned about climate change and there’s a clear public mandate for bold action to slash emissions, so what’s the government waiting for?”
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Connor Schwartz, climate lead at Friends of the Earth, said: “It’s no wonder people are confused about what this government wants from the climate summit. The government tells other countries to reduce emissions, while investing $1bn in a gas mega-project in Mozambique. It says the rest of the world should ditch coal power, yet hasn’t pulled the plug on a new deep coal mine in Cumbria.
“This polling shows that people know we are facing a climate crisis. They understand what’s at stake, and they want the most powerful person in the country to act, not just talk.”