COP26 President Alok Sharma has said he wants “more out of every country” and now is the time to deliver on limiting temperature rises to below 1.5C.
Ahead of around 120 world leaders gathering at the event in Glasgow on Monday for a two-day summit, Mr Sharma urged them to do more to help the planet.
Speaking to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Mr Sharma said: “My message to them is very clear, leave the ghosts of the past behind you and let’s focus on the future and unite around this one issue that we know matters to all of us, which is protecting our precious planet.”
He said the summit of world leaders at COP26 is very important for agreeing a consensus but added there are two whole weeks of “detailed negotiations” following that two-day summit – and without a deal “the future is really quite unimaginable”.
“This is a chance for all these countries to show leadership, this is the point where they have to stand up and be counted,” he said.
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“I want more out of every country.
“But I think the point is we have made progress and then we’re going to have to take stock on where there is a gap between where the commitments are and where we need to be.”
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He said it is important that leaders discuss how to close that gap over the next decade.
But he played down the significance of China and Russia’s leaders not turning up in Glasgow, saying they have “both announced net zero targets for the middle of the century” and that all countries need to show leadership on climate change.
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Sharma heckled during youth climate speech
However, he said the challenge at COP26 is more difficult than in Paris in 2015.
“Paris was a brilliant achievement, an historical achievement, but it was a framework agreement,” he said.
“What we have had to do since then is agree some of the detailed rules and some of the most difficult rules are still outstanding after six years. That makes it really challenging and, of course, we know that the geopolitics is more difficult than it was at the time of Paris.”
The government is hoping a detailed agreement will be made between countries around the world at the end of the fortnight of COP26.
Asked if Mr Sharma thinks it will end in a deal, he said: “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.
“That 1.5C really matters.”
Image: Protests have already started in Glasgow
He added at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels there will be countries in the world that will be under water, which is why an agreement is needed on how to tackle climate change over the next decade.
Labour’s Emily Thornberry told Trevor Phillips on Sunday the summit is “not a giant photo opportunity” for Boris Johnson and called on him to “summon up all the statesmanship he has” to get countries to agree to a deal.
This year’s summit is particularly important as it will be the first time the parties will review the most up-to-date plans for how they will limit global warming to 2C but ideally 1.5C, a goal set under the Paris Agreement at COP21.
Ambitions to achieve that may be depleted as a draft joint statement by G20 leaders contains few concrete actions to limit carbon emissions, according to Reuters journalists who have seen the statement.
Boris Johnson told Sky News’ Beth Rigby on Saturday that success in the fight to tackle global warming “is going to be very difficult” but “the whole of humanity is in the ring”.
On Friday, he said “Team World” was “5-1” down at half-time in the battle to save the planet.
Labour’s largest union donor, Unite, has voted to suspend Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over her role in the Birmingham bin strike row.
Members of the trade union, one of the UK’s largest, also “overwhelmingly” voted to “re-examine its relationship” with Labour over the issue.
They said Ms Rayner, who is also housing, communities and local government secretary, Birmingham Council’s leader, John Cotton, and other Labour councillors had been suspended for “bringing the union into disrepute”.
There was confusion over Ms Rayner’s membership of Unite, with her office having said she was no longer a member and resigned months ago and therefore could not be suspended.
But Unite said she was registered as a member. Parliament’s latest register of interests had her down as a member in May.
The union said an emergency motion was put to members at its policy conference in Brighton on Friday.
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Unite is one of the Labour Party’s largest union donors, donating £414,610 in the first quarter of 2025 – the highest amount in that period by a union, company or individual.
The union condemned Birmingham’s Labour council and the government for “attacking the bin workers”.
Mountains of rubbish have been piling up in the city since January after workers first went on strike over changes to their pay, with all-out strike action starting in March. An agreement has still not been made.
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Rat catcher tackling Birmingham’s bins problem
Ms Rayner and the councillors had their membership suspended for “effectively firing and rehiring the workers, who are striking over pay cuts of up to £8,000”, the union added.
‘Missing in action’
General secretary Sharon Graham told Sky News on Saturday morning: “Angela Rayner, who has the power to solve this dispute, has been missing in action, has not been involved, is refusing to come to the table.”
She had earlier said: “Unite is crystal clear, it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette.
“Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.
“The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises.
“People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers.”
Image: Piles of rubbish built up around Birmingham because of the strike over pay
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said the government’s “priority is and always has been the residents of Birmingham”.
He said the decision by Unite workers to go on strike had “caused disruption” to the city.
“We’ve worked to clean up streets and remain in close contact with the council […] as we support its recovery,” he added.
A total of 800 Unite delegates voted on the motion.
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