London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Climate crisis: history will judge failure to act, Johnson says at UN

PM’s warning to world’s richest countries comes amid suggestions US could commit more funds
Boris Johnson has warned the world’s rich countries that “history will judge”, if they fail to act now to tackle the climate crisis, as US climate envoy John Kerry suggested President Biden was poised to commit more funds to the fight.

At the UN general assembly in New York, the prime minister urged other developed countries to increase their contributions, to help meet the target of $100bn (£73bn) in climate financing set more than a decade ago.

“The world will see, and your people will remember, and history will judge,” he said, underlining the importance of achieving an ambitious outcome to the Cop26 climate talks, which the UK is hosting in Glasgow in November.

The prime minister was speaking ahead of a roundtable of developing countries, which he co-chaired with UN secretary general António Guterres.

He added: “Cop26 will be staged in the full glare of the global spotlight. And when the summit ends, when most of the world has committed to decisive, game-changing action, it will be clear to all which of us has lacked the courage to step up,” he said.

Without singling out any individual countries, he added: “It is the biggest economies in the world that are causing the problem, while the smallest suffer the worst consequences. And while progress is being made all over the world, the gulf between what has been promised, what is actually being delivered, and what needs to happen … remains vast.”

The UK is entering the final leg of a frantic diplomatic effort to ensure that the Glasgow summit produces a significant agreement. Cop26 president Alok Sharma has travelled to the US with Johnson to press the case with individual countries.

Sharma told journalists in New York that of the G20 countries, only the G7 plus Argentina had so far produced the emission reduction targets they had committed to set ahead of Cop26.

He urged the other G20 countries, which include China, India and Russia, to step forward. “The ball’s in their court and they need to deliver,” he said. “Warm words are not going to be enough; people need to come forward with commitments.”

It remains unclear whether China, a major polluter, will attend November’s summit. Beijing was irritated by the announcement of the Aukus defence and security deal on Indo-China.

Johnson’s official spokesperson said on Monday: “We’re obviously very keen that China attends, and will work with them.”

Developed countries promised more than a decade ago at the Copenhagen summit to make $100bn in public and private financing available to help developing countries transition to clean energy sources, and cope with the extreme weather triggered by global heating. But the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported last week that the target appeared likely to be missed by up to $20bn.

Johnson said en route to the US that he believed there was only a six in 10 chance of the target being reached before the Cop26 summit. But Joe Biden’s climate envoy Kerry, also attending the UN meeting, expressed more optimism. “I think we’re going to get it done,” he said, when asked about the $100bn.

Asked whether Biden would commit more US financing, he said: “I’m telling you to stay tuned to the president’s speech and we’ll see where we are,” in what appeared to be a heavy hint that the White House is preparing to make an announcement.

Johnson will discuss the prospects for a climate deal with the US president when the pair meet in Washington on Tuesday.

The prime minister has repeatedly made the point in statements this week that the developed countries owe a debt to their poorer counterparts, because they are largely responsible for climate change.

“It’s the developing world that are bearing the brunt of catastrophic climate change in the form of hurricanes and fires and floods, and the real long-term economic damage that they face, and yet it’s the developed world that for over 200 years has put the carbon in the atmosphere,” he said.

As well as boosting climate finance, the UK and UN are also hoping to persuade some rich countries to make more ambitious promises to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years.

The general assembly meeting was intended by Guterres as a “wake-up call”, and he showed his frustration with the lack of progress in the buildup Cop26 so far, according to a senior UN official.

“He is really quite frustrated at where we are with emissions reduction, and that the decade-long commitment on climate finance has not been fulfilled,” said the official. “But the meeting definitely served its purpose in the sense of urgency and warning that if [countries] don’t step up ambition, there is a high risk of failure [at Cop26].”

Though the UN refused to say which countries needed to make fresh commitments to cut emissions, the G20, which includes China and India, were pinpointed as holding the key.

“It’s really clear that everyone knows the gap between what is needed and what is currently on the table is absolutely massive and requires the leadership of the G20,” said a senior UN official after the talks.

David Kabua, president of the Marshall Islands, who represented the High Ambition Coalition, which includes many of the most vulnerable countries, was more forceful. “With so much at stake, we have to follow talk with action,” he said, and urged the G20 leaders to take “drastic steps” to cut emissions.

Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, also called for more action. “Enhanced climate finance and enhanced ambitions are necessary. The richest countries and the biggest emitters need to lead the way,” she said.

Frederiksen committed to contribute at least 1% of the $100bn target and urged other countries to “aim high”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×