Boris Johnson will host a Downing Street press conference at 5pm today, it has been announced.
The briefing will be on the Cop26 climate change conference and the prime minister will appear alongside the summit’s president Alok Sharma.
It comes after a pact was finally agreed in Glasgow last night which saw a dramatic last-minute intervention from China and India to water down the deal to end the use of coal power.
Sharma today said the two states would have to “justify themselves” to climate vulnerable countries.
He made the comments after fighting back tears on the world stage as the deal was finally completed.
The agreement had been due to include a pledge to accelerate the “phase-out” of coal power but it was switched to “phase-down”.
The word change reduces the urgency with which countries are required to reduce the use of coal – the worst fossil fuel for greenhouse gases.
This morning, Sharma told Sky News: “On the issue of coal, China and India of course are going to have to justify to some of the most climate vulnerable countries what happened. You heard that disappointment on the floor.”
A tearful Sharma told delegates last night: “I apologise for the way this process has unfolded. I am deeply sorry.”
However, the Glasgow Climate Pact is the first ever climate deal to explicitly plan to reduce coal.
The overall deal saw nearly 200 countries agree to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels “alive” or within reach.
