It's 1 minute to midnight warns Boris Johnson ahead of crunch Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow
World leaders are arriving at the summit this morning
Last updated 11th Nov 2021
Boris Johnson's arriving at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow with a warning humanity has "run down the clock" on climate change and must get serious about action today.
When he speaks to world leaders, including US President Joe Biden at the opening ceremony this morning he is expected to urge countries to move from talk and debate to concerted real-world action.
He will call for action on phasing out coal power, protecting and restoring forests, providing finance for countries to tackle climate change and boosting electric vehicles.
The Prime Minister is also pledging an extra £1 billion in climate finance to support developing countries by 2025 if the economy grows as forecast and the UK's aid budget returns to the 0.7% of GDP level.
Plans not enough
Separately the UN has warned that plans by countries to cut climate-warming emissions in the next decade were not enough to put the world on track to limit warming to 1.5C, beyond which increasingly severe extreme weather, rising seas and damage to crops, health and wildlife will be felt.
Mr Johnson will say: "Humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change.
"It's one minute to midnight and we need to act now.
"If we don't get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow."
He is also expected to say: "We have to move from talk and debate and discussion to concerted, real-world action on coal, cars, cash and trees.
"Not more hopes and targets and aspirations, valuable though they are, but clear commitments and concrete timetables for change.
"We need to get real about climate change and the world needs to know when that's going to happen."
More than 120 leaders are set to attend the world leaders summit where countries are under pressure to increase action in the next decade to curb dangerous warming and to deliver financial support for poorer countries least responsible for and most vulnerable to climate change.
There are also efforts to drive action by countries, regions, and businesses to curb emissions in sectors such as power with efforts to phase out coal, as well as finalise parts of the Paris climate accord agreed in 2015 to make it effective and operational.