Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference inside the Downing Street Briefing Room in London,England.Credit:Getty
But in a major shift demanded by coal-dependent India and China,the Glasgow Climate Pact used watered-down language about “phasing down” the use of coal instead of “phasing out” coal.
Johnson,however,said the compromise did not make “that much of a difference”.
Ending coal is seen as thekey to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,which cause the Earth to warm up and produce rising seas and more extreme weather including droughts,storms and wildfires.
“It’s an immense thing to get a commitment from 190 countries to phase down or phase out coal,” Johnson told a press conference. “The direction of travel is pretty much the same.”
COP26 President Alok Sharma .Credit:Getty
Still,he acknowledged that some countries did not live up to the ambition of the summit. He accepted that the Glasgow summit did not deliver the “full solution” to climate change,but said the world was “undeniably heading in the right direction”.
“We can lobby,we can cajole,we can encourage,but we cannot force sovereign nations to do what they do not wish to do,” he said.