British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives to a cabinet meeting in Sunderland, England, January 31, 2020. (Paul Ellis/Reuters)

This November, the United Nations’s climate-change summit — rivetingly titled “COP26” — will happen in Glasgow, Scotland, the British government has announced. Given that polls now indicate a clear majority for Scottish independence north of the border, it’s a good idea to try to strengthen the union by uniting against a common enemy.

The BBC reports:

A ban on selling new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars in the UK will be brought forward from 2040 to 2035 at the latest, under government plans. The change comes after experts said 2040 would be too late if the UK wants to achieve its target of emitting virtually zero carbon by 2050. Boris Johnson unveiled the policy as part of a launch event for a United Nations climate summit in November. He said 2020 would be a “defining year of climate action” for the planet.

The only trouble is that Johnson, who previously described the effect of global warming as the planet being swaddled in “a tea cosy,” has been accused of a lack of seriousness.



The prime minister “doesn’t really get climate change,” said Claire Perry O’Neill, the former Tory energy minister, who was recently sacked as the conference president. Conveniently for Johnson, most of his pledges — e.g. banning new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 — are scheduled for when he will no longer be in office.

Of course, compared to their American counterparts, British conservatives have a glowing record on climate change. But while no promise will ever be enough for the most militant green activists, Johnson will need to do a lot better if he is to prove that he indeed “gets” climate change.