Cop26, all the environmental challenges of Boris Johnson
What happens at COP26 and how Prime Minister Johnson moves. The point of Daniele Meloni
Boris Johnson opened Cop26 in Glasgow on Monday with his usual colorful and dense metaphors language. An event that, in the intentions of the British Prime Minister, must represent the new Global Britain more than any other. Planetary stage, a topic for some time at the center of the concerns of world chancelleries, great impact of British soft power: this is why the leader Tory cares so much for the success of the conference.
So far, Johnson has managed to bring home the deadline to end deforestation in 2030, bringing China and Russia with him as well. A result that is far from obvious given the premises of the G20. But the UK wants to achieve much more at the end of COP26, by binding all countries in the world to limit CO2 emissions by 2050 and temperatures to +1.5 degrees Celsius. On this, as demonstrated in Rome, Russia and China are much more cautious, while India – another essential player in the fight against climate change – has spoken of “net zero” by 2070.
The UK premier spoke of the 5-1 advantage of pollution over man at the end of the first half, but he also added that, perhaps, in these days one or two goals have been recovered from the world. Then he indulged in a catastrophic story-telling that did not completely convince his party in the first place, stating that "we are one minute from climatic midnight" and seasoning everything with words that are more reminiscent of the Fridays for Future movement than not traditional Tory environmentalism. Perhaps Johnson – after having stormed the Labor strongholds – wants to break through even the younger electorate? Maybe.
So far, however, there has been no lack of criticism. In an interview with CNN , he was asked what will happen to the new coal mine planned in Cumbria if, as he himself stated, it is necessary to “eliminate coal as it produces the greatest amount of emissions”. BoJo went into trouble saying he "will do what is legally possible". Then the conservative newspapers have prodded him about the fact that in his budget law – the Budget presented by Sunak last week – there are concessions for those traveling by plane within the country and has blocked excise duties on petrol for the two-year period 2022- 2023. But it is Johnson's environmental posture that does not convince his party's deputies. According to a Portland Communications survey, although half of the British replied that it is right to penalize polluting activities, only 7% say they are willing to pay more to preserve the environment.
Johnson, however, "go straight", as our press would say. His Green Industrial Revolution has been launched and he is convinced that the UK is at the forefront in the fight against climate change thanks also to the technologies that will make it a powerhouse in wind power and capture-emission clusters. The evil ones say that his green turn is due to the influence of his wife Carrie, who has espoused the environmental cause for years. In fact, other political considerations occupy the mind of the Tory leader. The first is to strengthen the relationship with the Royal Family. Prince Charles has been one of the most renowned environmentalists in the world for years, and Johnson paid tribute to him the other night at the reception at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow stating that "for years he was a prophet without being given credit" . Queen Elizabeth also spoke out on climate change, hoping that the words do not remain a dead letter at the end of the summit.
Then there is the relationship with the USA. Build Back Better and Build Back Greener are slogans Johnson and then Biden adopted. The British Prime Minister approached the US President – breaking free from an annoying identification with Trump for him – precisely on environmental issues. Americans consider the ecological and energy transition to be geopolitically decisive factors in the fight against China's rise. And on this point London wants to be alongside Washington.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/cop26-tutte-le-sfide-ambientaliste-di-boris-johnson/ on Wed, 03 Nov 2021 08:56:06 +0000.