By Elishya Perera
LONDON (CU)_During his address at the US-led climate summit on Thursday (22 April), British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call on other countries to match the United Kingdom’s target on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.
US President Joe Biden convene the “Leaders Summit on Climate”, which will be attended by 40 heads of state from around the world. The gathering is seen as a precursor to the UN climate talks (COP26), and the US hopes to convince the rest of the World that it can be a trusted partner of global efforts.
Announcing the world’s most ambitious climate target on Tuesday, the British PM announced that his country plans to slash its carbon emissions by 78 per cent by 2035. While, this would place the UK nearly 15 years ahead of its previous target, however the government would need to fundamentally restructure the country’s energy and transport sectors.
According to his office, PM Johnson will tell his fellow heads of state that the United Kingdom has shown that it is not impossible to slash a country’s carbon emissions while growing its economy, adding that this would make the question of achieving carbon neutrality not so much technical as political.
“If we actually want to stop climate change, then this must be the year in which we get serious about doing so. Because the 2020s will be remembered either as the decade in which world leaders united to turn the tide, or as a failure,” he is expected to say.
During the conference on Thursday, the Prime Minister will also call on other countries to attend COP Biodiversity Summit in Kunming, China, in October and the COP26 summit in Glasgow, the following month.
“And let the history books show that it was this generation of leaders that possessed the will to preserve our planet for generations to come.”
