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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hailed the deal struck at the end of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow as a “big step forward” and the first-ever international agreement to “phase down” the use of coal.
As per the report by PTI, Praising the hard work of COP26 President Alok Sharma – the British Indian Cabinet minister in charge of navigating the negotiations – Johnson expressed the hope that the two-week-long summit which went into extra time over the weekend will mark the “beginning of the end of climate change”.
His statement followed an agreement between nearly 200 countries on a final communique late on Saturday, which recognises India’s intervention for the world to “phase down” rather than “phase out” fossil fuels.
“There is still a huge amount more to do in the coming years. But today’s agreement is a big step forward and, critically, we have the first ever international agreement to phase down coal and a roadmap to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees [Celsius],” said Johnson.
“I hope that we will look back on COP26 in Glasgow as the beginning of the end of climate change, and I will continue to work tirelessly towards that goal,” he said.
