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The president of the Cop26 summit Alok Sharma has said the UK is already experiencing the impact of climate change, as a group of Tory MPs shared their concerns about the cost of pursuing green policies.The government minister said he was shocked by recent photographs of the wildfires in Greece – but pointed to last month’s flash flooding in London as an example of extreme weather events in Britain.Mr Sharma told BBC’s Newscast podcast: “Unfortunately it’s not just Greece, we’re seeing around the world. And even in our country, right? In July when I was hosting a meeting of climate ministers here in London, London experienced in 24 hours one month of rainfall.”It comes as Conservative MPs in “red wall” seats across the north of England were caught out complaining to one other about the possible costs involved in cutting carbon emissions.Discussing the government’s green agenda, Tory Ashfield MP Lee Anderson reportedly told a WhatsApp group of Tory MPs: “This will not go down well in Red Wall seats at all.”Mr Sharma has been criticised for refusing to rule out new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea or an underground coal mine in Cumbria.Grilled about the plan for a coal mine near Whitehaven, Mr Sharma told the BBC: “When it comes to this coal mine I’m pleased there’s going to be a public inquiry. And we’ll see what comes out of it.”He added: “It does get raised by civil society groups when I talk to them. And I explain to them there is no coal mine – there’s going to be a public inquiry about this. There isn’t one at the moment, that’s the point.”The Cop26 minister has also come under fire over the number of flights he has taken around the world since the new year, but environmentalists have defended his attempts to hold face to face talks with leaders.Defending plane travel for the purpose of forging vital international agreement, Mr Sharma said it was particularly important for developing nation delegates to take part in talks “face-to-face” at Cop26 in Glasgow this November.“Everyone has been invited and we hope as many world leaders as possible come to this,” said the conference president. “The best way of getting this done is doing it face to face.“It’s really important that developing nations are able to sit at the same table as the big economies, the big nations, look them in the eye, face to face, and have this negotiation.”Mr Sharma said he expected more countries to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – their own national climate action plans – before the Cop26 summit begins, urging major polluters like China and India to come up with new targets.“At the current count around 112 have submitted their NDCs,” he said. “What we need of course is all the big economies to come forward. We want to see what China’s going to do. We want to see what India is going to do.”“We’re also trying to get countries to commit to going to net zero in their economies by the middle of the century,” Mr Sharma added.The UK government said earlier this week it would relax some travel restrictions to help delegates attend the climate conference, including a shorter quarantine period for those from so-called “red list” countries who have been vaccinated. More

The government could be about to significantly curb the scope of a scheme that pays consumers to return drinks bottles and cans for recycling, green experts are warning.A coalition of environmental charities says ministers could be about to make a “costly and misguided mistake” that will allow plastic to continue to pollute the countryside and seas, devastating wildlife.The start date of a planned deposit return scheme has been put back a year from 2023 to 2024.And one option being “seriously” considered is restricting the scheme to drink containers under 750ml in size and excluding those sold in multipacks.The Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition whose members include Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and WWF, warns in a report today against the moves.Under a deposit return scheme, the price of drinks in bottles or aluminium cans includes a small amount that goes towards recycling. The sum is returned to the buyer as an incentive to recycle when the empty container is returned.In its election manifesto, the government promised a scheme this Parliament, with an original start date of 2023, but a government consultation document earlier this year said the coronavirus had forced a delay in rolling it out.The consultation also considers restricting the scheme to smaller “on-the-go” containers rather than a wider “all-in” arrangement.Paula Chin, chairwoman of the coalition’s resources and waste group, said: “The evidence is clear that an ‘all-in’ deposit return scheme will provide a huge boost to the environment, helping make our streets, parks and natural spaces cleaner and healthier.“The government’s own figures show that there’s over £5bn in benefits by introducing this scheme in full.“However, ministers are currently weighing up whether to back a watered-down proposal which would cover just a third of drinks containers placed on the market and which may possibly exclude glass containers.”“As we face the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, it’s essential that the government back the strongest possible scheme for tackling litter without delay.”In a first official consultation in 2019, public backing for a deposit return scheme was high, but held a fresh one because of the pandemic.A decision on that is imminent, and the coalition says it understands there is a “strong possibility” the watered-down option will be adopted.A scheme covering all types of containers is predicted to lead to 23.7 billion being recycled each year, against only 7.4 billion under the scaled-down option.The Link coalition says an “all-in” scheme has been judged to have benefits of £11bn against only £3.5bn for an “on-the-go” model – calculated from reduced litter, carbon dioxide savings and the value of recovered materials.The Link members also point out that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already indicated their support for the “all-in” model, with Scotland set to introduce their scheme next year, ahead of the rest of the UK.“The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the economy and society in unimaginable ways, with many people reassessing their values, decisions and priorities,” the government document said.Lockdown has led to unprecedented levels of litter, evidence has suggested.Of the 13 billion plastic drinks bottles sold each year, less than half are recycled, and around 700,000 are dropped into the environment every day.Countries already operating deposit return schemes, such as Germany, have plastic bottle recycling rates of over 90 per cent, against 59 per cent in the UK.The government has set a target of eliminating all ‘avoidable’ plastic waste by 2042, with measures including a plastic packaging tax.In 2019, Greenpeace created a giant bottle out of plastic bottles, delivering it to the government in an effort to persuade ministers to introduce a bottle return scheme.The Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee last month launched an inquiry into plastic waste, sayig just a third of the five million tonnes of plastic used in the UK is recycled.Plastics that are not recycled are exported abroad, where some has been found being burnt or dumped, polluting waterways, not recycled.The Independent has asked the government to respond to the report. More

Labour is demanding an apology from Boris Johnson after he said Britain owed its escape from reliance on coal energy to Margaret Thatcher’s closure of the mines in the 1980s.The prime minister was reported to have chuckled as he made the comment about his Tory predecessor’s wholesale closure of pits, which led to the bitterly divisive miners’ strike of 1984-85.Speaking during a visit to a wind-farm off the coast of Scotland, Mr Johnson said that the UK’s dependence on coal for its electricity had fallen from 70-80 per cent in his childhood to less than one per cent now largely “thanks to” Lady Thatcher.“We’ve transitioned away from coal in my lifetime,” he said. “Thanks to Margaret Thatcher, who closed so many coal mines across the country, we had a big early start and we’re now moving rapidly away from coal altogether.”Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy called on the PM to apologise.“These are shameful comments from the prime minister, and reveal the Conservative party’s utter disregard for the communities still scarred by Thatcher’s closure of the mines and failure to deliver good new jobs in their place,” she said.“Without investment in good, green jobs as we move away from fossil fuels, the Conservatives risk repeating the mistakes of the past. It is vital that the green transition is a fair transition.“The prime minister should apologise.”Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also condemned the comments.“Lives and communities in Scotland were utterly devastated by Thatcher’s destruction of the coal industry which had zero to do with any concern she had for the planet,” she tweeted.“To treat that as something to laugh about is crass and deeply insensitive.” More

Keir Starmer has branded Boris Johnson and his government “climate delayers”, as he warned that the biggest threat to international efforts to stem global warming is no longer outright denial but failure to act with the necessary urgency.Speaking to The Independent, the Labour leader said the prime minister was “letting the country down” with his inaction on climate change, less than 100 days before he is due to host the United Nations Cop26 global warming summit in Glasgow.Warning that “the sense of urgency just isn’t there with this government”, Starmer pointed to internal cabinet rows over the replacement of gas boilers, as well as the sell-off of the Green Investment Bank and the scrapping of green homes grants as markers that Conservative rhetoric on sustainability was not matched by action.And he revealed new figures suggesting that some 75,000 green jobs have been lost over five years at a time when Tory prime ministers were publicly committed to action against climate change.Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed an overall loss of 33,800 direct jobs in the low carbon and renewable sectors between 2014 and 2019, along with a further 41,400 jobs in the supply chain, said Labour. These included falls in jobs in onshore wind, solar panels and energy efficient equipment.“Those 75,000 jobs are an example of this government’s and this prime minister’s trademark rhetoric not matched by reality,” said Starmer.But the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) challenged the claim, insisting that the apparent decline was due to a change in the way the statistics were compiled. The department pointed to an ONS report in March this year which said the sector had seen “no significant change in size” between 2014 and 2019. The ONS said that methodological changes in 2015 made direct comparisons “difficult”.The Labour leader, who on Tuesday told The Independent that he was recommitting Labour to the ambitious target of cutting the “substantial majority” of carbon emissions by 2030, was speaking during a two-day visit to Glasgow to mark 100 days to go until the conclusion of the UN summit, where it is hoped that almost 200 nations will unite behind a plan for action to keep warming to no more than 1.5C.But he warned that, after slashing the UK’s aid budget and embarking on a series of rows with European allies, Mr Johnson’s reputation was “at a low ebb” internationally at the very moment when he has the task of brokering a deal to build on the Paris Agreement of 2015.Cop26 will be “arguably the biggest global event for Britain since the Olympics in 2012, when the eyes of the whole world will be on us”, said Starmer.“Paris told us what we have got to do – the ambition to get to 1.5 degrees. But Glasgow has got to deliver the reality of how we get there.“That means diplomacy, it means building coalitions, it means leading by example. Acting globally on the diplomatic stage is all about reputation and trust and the reputation of this prime minister is at a low ebb.“Just at the point where we need a prime minister that can lead for Britain, we have a prime minister that’s letting Britain down.”Starmer added: “I’m very perturbed about the inaction of the government, because in a sense the biggest challenge here is no longer the climate deniers, it’s the climate delayers. Those that know we’ve got to do something but aren’t acting quickly enough. And the government is in that category.”On a visit to a wind farm in Scotland alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Starmer restated Labour’s call for £30bn in planned investment to be brought forward to support up to 400,000 jobs in manufacturing and low-carbon industries.And he aimed a broadside at the record of the Scottish National Party, after figures showed fewer direct green jobs north of the border than in 2014, despite the party promising to create 130,000 green jobs by 2020.“Tackling the climate crisis must be at the heart of everything we do,” said Starmer. “We are at a critical moment. In less than 100 days, Cop26 will be over and our chance to keep the planet’s warming below 1.5 degrees will have either been grasped or abandoned.“The UK must rise to this moment and lead by example. That means rapid action to create good, green jobs across the country. And it means a proper strategy to buy, make and sell more in Britain, to create good, unionised jobs in clean energy and through supply chains.“We’ve had a decade of broken promises on green jobs and climate action under the Conservatives. And we are going backwards in Scotland, too. For all the rhetoric, both parties have overseen a significant loss of green jobs.“Nobody here in the UK can afford for this issue to be yet another example of Boris Johnson bluster. We need real action, now. It is time for a Green New Deal.”A BEIS spokesperson said: “As we build back better and greener from the pandemic, this government is firmly committed to seizing the economic opportunities presented by the transition to a green economy. “The data from 2019 and 2014 cannot be compared as there was a change in how the survey was conducted. In fact, ONS has concluded that the low carbon and renewable energy economy has remained stable.“We have welcomed the recommendations put forward by the green jobs taskforce, which are a big step forward in delivering the skilled workers and green jobs essential for the UK’s transition to net zero. “This will now be considered by the government, starting with the development of our net zero strategy, due to be published ahead of the UN’s climate summit Cop26 in Glasgow this November.” More

Boris Johnson is “missing in action” ahead of the vital COP26 climate summit in Scotland later this year, Keir Starmer is warning.The Labour leader claims the November talks in Glasgow are at risk of failing because the PM is more interested in “soundbites” than leadership.His comments come ahead of a visit to Glasgow, where he will promote Labour’s own policies aiming to reduce emissions.Mr Johnson also makes a rare trip north of the border on Wednesday, although Downing Street has kept quiet on his itinerary.Prior to his own visit, Mr Starmer vowed to keep a committment to Labour’s target of achieving the “substantial majority” of greenhouse gas emission cuts by 2030, as set out in the party’s last election manifesto.With just under three months to go until the world’s attention is focused on CO26, Mr Starmer accused the government of lacking ambition on the climate crisis.“As host of the summit, the world is looking to Britain to deliver,” he wrote in The Guardian. “We cannot afford to miss this moment, but I fear we will.”He added: “All over the world, unusual weather events show that dystopia is not on the horizon. It is here today, all around us,” he wrote.“At this vital moment, our prime minister is missing in action, while his climate spokesperson is busy advising people to freeze their leftover bread.”When the issues at stake are so large, it really is irresponsible for the response to be so small.”The government has come under criticism for its policy and rhetoric on the climate in recent days.Allegra Stratton, the COP26 spokesperson, came under fire after suggesting people should avoid rinsing their plates before putting them into the dishwasher to help reduce emissions.Earlier this week, Mr Stratton, a former journalist, revealed that she continued to use a diesel car because she had to take long journeys to Scotland, Wales and Gloucestershire for family visits.Her remarks were condemned by climate activists and electric car experts, who said the vehicles are suitable for longer journeys with the right planning.Labour has also warned that ministers’ decision to scrap the Green Homes Grant has cost 90,000 jobs.The grant was a central plank of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2020 plan for jobs, which promised a green recovery to improve 600,000 homes and support 100,000 green jobs. But by the time it was closed in March 2021, just 63,000 households had benefited and new Labour analysis has found that only 10,000 jobs were delivered.Shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell described the scheme as “a shambles from the start”.“Once again the government are over-promising and under-delivering, with their failures damaging our Covid recovery and costing vital jobs,” she said. More

Sir Keir Starmer has committed Labour to the ambitious climate crisis target of achieving the “substantial majority” of greenhouse gas emission cuts by 2030.The Labour leader’s previous reluctance publicly to reaffirm the pledge inherited from Jeremy Corbyn had sparked fears among climate activists that he was backing away from radical action on global warming, with 20 leftist MPs writing last year to urge him to readopt the Green New Deal approved by the party in 2019.But in an exclusive interview with The Independent, Starmer said the party’s commitment to the promise – effectively putting the UK on the path to net zero 20 years ahead of Boris Johnson’s 2050 target – was as strong now as ever.Asked if he stood by the pledge to complete the substantial majority of carbon reductions by 2030, he replied firmly: “Absolutely. Exactly the same as was in our 2019 manifesto.“So the ambition – and not just the ambition, the determination and the commitment – of the Labour Party on the Green New Deal is just as strong now.”Starmer’s announcement, which came on the eve of a two-day visit to Glasgow to highlight Labour’s climate plans ahead of November’s crucial COP26 global warming summit in the city, was welcomed by Green New Deal campaigners within the party.But they cautioned that the promise must be backed by commitments to concrete action of the kind detailed in Corbyn’s manifesto, which pledged to ensure that the cost of transition to a green economy was born mostly by polluters and the wealthy, including by a windfall tax on oil companies, energy renationalisation, a ban on fracking and stock exchange delisting for climate-unfriendly businesses. Sir Keir made clear that the detailed policy backing up the pledge was subject to Labour’s ongoing review, which will not report until nearer the next election.His comments came as Labour warned that the government’s decision to scrap the Green Homes Grant has cost 90,000 jobs.The grant was a central plank of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2020 plan for jobs, which promised a green recovery to improve 600,000 homes and support 100,000 green jobs. But by the time it was closed in March 2021, just 63,000 households had benefited and new Labour analysis has found that only 10,000 jobs were delivered.Shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell described the scheme as “a shambles from the start”.“Once again the government are over-promising and under-delivering, with their failures damaging our Covid recovery and costing vital jobs,” she said.“We urgently need to de-carbonise our homes, to create green jobs, reduce emissions and save people money on their bills and heating. Rather than scrapping the scheme and clawing back this vital funding, the government should invest in making homes warm, dry, cheaper to run and fit for the future.”Labour’s 2030 emissions target was the subject of bitter wrangling after the 2019 party conference backed a motion to “work towards a path to net zero carbon emissions by 2030” in the face of resistance from unions who warned that an inflexible target of zero could lead to mass job losses.No precise figure has been put on what a “substantial majority” of cuts would mean, though it is generally accepted it would be considerably more than the 68 per cent reductions on 1990 levels promised by Mr Johnson. Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said in December that the 68 per cent figure was the “minimum we should aim for”.A spokesperson for the Labour for a Green New Deal (LGND) campaign told The Independent it should mean “as close to net zero as possible”.“A motion backing net zero by 2030 was passed at Labour Party conference, giving the leadership a clear mandate to achieve this,” said the spokesperson. “The party should respect the spirit of this commitment, and work to deliver it as closely as possible.” The LGND spokesperson said: “We welcome Keir Starmer recommitting to cut carbon emissions by 2030, but it’s urgent that he shows how he will achieve this. Meeting this goal will require bold, decisive action, and Labour’s 2019 manifesto offered a clear plan for how to do this.“Only a Labour government can tackle the climate crisis while building a fairer, more equal society. But this will only be possible if the leadership commits to a transformative Green New Deal, built around public ownership and state investment on a huge scale.“If the public are to have faith that Keir Starmer’s Labour Party can deliver decisive and drastic change for the sake of our climate, he must demonstrate this by committing to these policies now, not in 2024.”One of the signatories to last year’s letter, Corbyn-era shadow cabinet member Clive Lewis, told The Independent: “Keir’s comment is welcome, but he needs to be going further and faster. The 2019 commitments are two years out of date now. Times have moved on and we can see for ourselves what is happening, with the wildfires and floods.“Committing to the ‘substantial majority’ of emissions cuts by 2030 is the least we can expect. Joe Biden has been talking about making the corporations pay, and we really need to be out ahead of the Democrats on that sort of issue if Keir wants to have something to say at COP26 that will really show Boris Johnson up for the tin-pot climate leader he is.” More

The government’s Australia deal could lead to a similar trade pact with South America, where tropical forests are increasingly being razed for intensive farming, driving the climate crisis, environmentalists fear.And concerns have been raised that UK schoolchildren, hospital patients and restaurant and canteen customers could eat products from animals that have been treated in ways that would be illegal in the UK.The EU reached a deal in principle two years ago with the so-called Mercosur bloc of Latin American countries, covering tariffs and trade barriers.And ministers say the government’s trade deal with Australia will boost UK attempts to join the CPTPP trade alliance, which covers Pacific nations from Japan to Mexico.The UK Eurogroup taskforce – a coalition of animal-protection representatives – has warned the UK will follow the EU and end up funding ecologically damaging and cruel practices.The RSPCA sounded the alarm over the UK supporting lower standards when the Australia deal was imminent earlier this year.The Animal Equality organisation said a South America deal would “trigger further deforestation, put greater pressure on Brazilian biodiversity, and create an increased likelihood of zoonotic diseases arising and a significant reduction in the standards of imported products into Europe”.In the Amazon, swathes of land are routinely cleared to rear cattle for beef exports and to plant soya to feed them. The deforestation, biodiversity loss and human-rights violations in Brazil have prompted the UK, the EU and the US all to consider legal action.The forest loss creates even more of the emissions driving the climate crisis, because trees and vegetation soak up carbon.Last year figures showed a football pitch-size area of forest was lost every six seconds. Cornelia Maarfield, trade and climate project manager at the global Climate Action Network coalition, said the current trade pattern, even before any agreement, was already driving deforestation, and that future deals could make the problem even worse.She pointed to a report commissioned by the French government on the EU-Mercosur trade agreement showing that the growth of beef production in South America due to the EU-Mercosur deal would accelerate tree loss by at least 25 per cent a year and destroy 36,000 sq km of forest a year. “The report concludes that taking deforestation into account, the climate costs would outweigh the economic benefits,” she said.Intensive animal agriculture has repeatedly been linked to the risk of pandemics, with the world’s leading scientists calling for a worldwide cut in meat consumption.Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, said intensive farming practices in south and central America risked creating new diseases, and warned that any UK deal would go against the standards the public wanted.“The EU and UK have made significant progress in reversing some of the most egregious production practices in intensive animal agriculture such as confining hens in battery cages so small they are unable to even stretch their wings,” she said.“However, hundreds of millions of hens, pigs and other animals endure miserable lives of perpetual confinement in countries like Mexico and Brazil, including battery cages and sow stalls which have been banned in the UK for many years.”As well as being cruel, intensive confinement of farm animals was also linked to the generation of more virulent diseases because of the sheer number of animals crowded together in insanitary environments, she said.“Any trade policy that allows the import of animal products that do not comport to the animal welfare policies of the UK and EU simply prop up an industry that the public has already firmly rejected, and further undermine the science behind those decisions.”In Mexico sow stalls – banned in the UK since 1999 – are still legal, and most hens both there and in Brazil are kept in battery cages, banned in the UK since 2012 on welfare grounds, she said.EU experts last year in a report described Brazil’s regulations on slaughter and transport as “insufficient”. The World Animal Protection charity grades the country only as D – on a scale where A is the best and G the worst.It noted that the EU’s Food and Veterinary Organisation found Brazilian authorities “cannot guarantee that meat products exported to the EU have been produced in accordance with EU requirements”.Some substances are authorised in cattle that cannot be used in the EU, it reported.As far back as last year, a Compassion in World Farming briefing warned that Brazil was increasingly moving towards the use of feedlots, which “would completely undermine our farmers if these products were imported into the UK”.A spokesperson for the Trade and Animal Welfare Coalition, part of the Eurogroup for Animals, said: “The UK should be using its trade policy to promote better welfare internationally, not to further incentivise or outsource lower welfare and unsustainable production systems in other parts of the world, impacting wild animals as well.”A government spokesperson said: “In all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards,” the wording contained in the Conservatives’ manifesto. More

Boris Johnson has been urged to step up efforts to secure agreement on stemming global warming, amid concern in some corners of Whitehall over a lack of urgency ahead of a crucial international summit he will chair in November.With less than 100 days to go to the Glasgow conference, there were warnings that hopes of a landmark deal may be unravelling.And Mr Johnson’s independent climate change adviser warned it was time for him to use “every diplomatic lever” to secure pledges from fellow leaders on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases and financial support to help developing countries adapt.One Whitehall insider said the government’s response to the climate crisis would have been deadly if it had been applied to the pandemic, warning: “If we had the same approach on Covid, we would still be debating which groups would get the first vaccine trials. We are out of time.”A spokesperson for Alok Sharma, the minister Mr Johnson has appointed president of the Cop26 summit, insisted that progress was being made – with countries accounting for 70 per cent of world GDP now committed to net zero emissions or carbon neutrality. But the spokesperson acknowledged: “There is more to do.”A poll for The Independent found that a majority of UK voters do not trust Mr Johnson to reach a deal. And despite the prime minister’s claims to have put Cop26 at the heart of his agenda for 2021, some 50 per cent of those surveyed by Savanta ComRes said they knew little or nothing about the summit or its goals.The United Nations summit, co-hosted with Italy, will – Covid restrictions permitting – bring up to 30,000 people from 200 countries to Glasgow with the aim of improving on the breakthrough Paris Accord of 2015, which committed the world to keeping warming below 2C.Nations that are party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have been urged to come armed with ambitious 2030 emission reductions targets that align with reaching net zero carbon by the middle of the century and keeping a maximum 1.5C increase in temperatures within reach.And richer countries are under pressure to finally make good on an unmet promise to mobilise at least $100bn in climate finance per year by 2020 to help the developing world adapt and prepare.But lack of progress at last month’s Johnson-hosted G7 summit in Cornwall has already sparked alarm, with UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa declaring in its wake that the world was still “very far away from being fully confident of having a full success at Cop26” with no clear sign on when the financing pledge will be fulfilled.While the UK, EU, US and China have announced new and ambitious emission reduction goals, more than 90 countries are yet to set out new targets and others – like Brazil, Russia and Australia – have offered only minor adjustments their Paris promises.Today’s poll confirms strong public support for action on climate change, with almost three-quarters (73 per cent) rating the aims of net zero emissions by 2050 and a 1.5C limit to warming as very important. Some 60 per cent voiced confidence that action now could rein in heating, compared to just 10 per cent who thought mankind could do little or nothing to halt rising temperatures.And majorities said they were ready to make – or have already made – climate-friendly changes to their lifestyles, such as limiting themselves to one return flight a year (62 per cent), halving their clothing purchases (73 per cent) and cutting use of electronic devices (61 per cent).But just 42 per cent said they trusted Mr Johnson to get a deal on global warming, against 51 per cent who said he would not. Mr Sharma was trusted to get a deal by only 21 per cent, with 27 per cent saying they did not expect him to succeed and 51 per cent saying they had never heard of him. Only US president Joe Biden was trusted by more than half (53 per cent) to deliver.The chair of the government’s independent advisory Climate Change Committee, Lord Deben, told The Independent the UK must apply “the strongest possible leadership” to push for a positive result at Glasgow.“It is encouraging to see the British public recognise the urgency and show willingness to take actions to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change impacts,” said the Conservative peer, who served as John Gummer in the Thatcher and Major governments“The Glasgow Cop26 summit is absolutely critical to delivering on global climate action.“It is essential that the UK applies the strongest possible leadership from the very highest level of government and continues to set an example to other countries. We need to bring forward clear policies across all sectors to deliver our world leading targets, and use every diplomatic lever available to secure firm and ambitious commitments on emissions reductions and climate change finance.”Ed Miliband, who leads on Cop26 for Labour, said the lack of faith shown by voters in Mr Johnson’s ability to get a deal was “entirely justified”.He told The Independent: “Our credibility on the world stage rests on the example we set at home. And the example Boris Johnson is setting is being off track on our climate targets, failing to deliver a green recovery, and cutting the Green Homes Grant and vital overseas aid spending.“Cop26 is not the international photo opportunity the prime minister seems to think it is. It is a complex negotiation to achieve meaningful global action to prevent climate disaster, which requires commitment at home and hard diplomacy. In the less than 100 days left to Cop26, he must step up.”But a spokesperson for the UK’s Cop26 presidency insisted that Mr Sharma was putting in the diplomatic work to get results.“The Cop president-designate is working to ensure the summit is a success and all countries come to Glasgow prepared to commit to action which will limit global temperature  rise to 1.5C, enable communities and natural habitats to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and work together to deliver action,” said the spokesperson.“We are seeing progress. Countries representing around 70 per cent of the world’s economy have now committed to reaching net zero emissions or carbon neutrality. When the UK took the role of incoming Cop presidency in December 2019, coverage was just 26 per cent of world GDP.“There is more to do. We will continue to work tirelessly to raise climate ambition around the world and ensure Cop26 is successful, inclusive and protects our planet for future generations.”Greenpeace UK senior climate campaigner Ariana Densham said today’s poll showed that “the public aren’t being fooled, and neither will other world leaders”. “Unless a barrage of plans, policies and cash for meeting our climate commitments is provided over the next three months, there’s a risk that the government’s lack of credibility as chair of the talks means it’ll all unravel in Glasgow,” she said.“People are overwhelmingly concerned about climate change and there’s a clear public mandate for bold action to slash emissions, so what’s the government waiting for?”Connor Schwartz, climate lead at Friends of the Earth, said: “It’s no wonder people are confused about what this government wants from the climate summit. The government tells other countries to reduce emissions, while investing $1bn in a gas mega-project in Mozambique. It says the rest of the world should ditch coal power, yet hasn’t pulled the plug on a new deep coal mine in Cumbria.“This polling shows that people know we are facing a climate crisis. They understand what’s at stake, and they want the most powerful person in the country to act, not just talk.” More