Johnson calls for more climate ambition

UK prime minister Boris Johnson called for more international action on climate change and for countries to make more ambitious commitments to change ahead of the COP26 summit in November.

He cited "the need to rid the world of coal-fired power and internal combustion engines" as two areas where the UK has repeatedly said more action is needed. "I confess I'm increasingly frustrated that the 'something' to which many of you have committed is nowhere near enough," he told the UN climate roundtable in New York today. "Too many major economies — some represented here today, some absent — are lagging too far behind."

Johnson said that solar and wind are the cheapest forms of electricity generation in most of the world, and will be the cheapest almost everywhere by 2030.

"It's a diplomacy issue, a security issue, a trade issue. And in the years to come, the only great powers will be green powers," he said.

The UK is hosting the COP26 summit in Glasgow. A key area is for rich countries to follow through on the $100bn of climate finance that is needed to help poorer countries with the energy transition. Germany and Canada will jointly lead on developing a $100bn delivery plan, which will be published ahead of the summit.

The UK will contribute £350mn to Climate Investment Funds, part of which will be used for its coal transition programme, which aims to accelerate the closure of coal-fired power plants by providing support to repurpose sites for renewable energy generation.

By Eleanor Green