The Queen has called on world leaders to look beyond their own lifetimes and “answer the call of future generations” with an ambitious agreement to tackle climate change.
In a speech delivered by video to more than 120 leaders in Glasgow for the climate change conference, she said that “none of us will live for ever” and urged them to rise above “the politics of the moment”.
The Queen, who had been due at the talks in person until she was told by her doctors to rest, said that neither she nor those negotiating in Glasgow would enjoy the “benefits of such actions”. But a successful Cop26 would help “our children and our children’s children”.
She added: “It has sometimes been observed that what leaders do for their people today is government and politics. But what they do for the people of tomorrow — that is statesmanship.
“It is the hope of many that the legacy of this summit — written in history books yet to be printed — will describe you as the leaders who did not pass up the opportunity; and that you answered the call of those future generations.
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“I, for one, hope that this conference will be one of those rare occasions where everyone will have the chance to rise above the politics of the moment, and achieve true statesmanship.
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“Of course, the benefits of such actions will not be there to enjoy for all of us here today: none of us will live for ever. But we are doing this not for ourselves but for our children and our children’s children, and those who will follow in their footsteps.”
The Queen also referred to her family but not the Duke of Sussex. “It is a source of great pride to me that the leading role my husband played in encouraging people to protect our fragile planet, lives on through the work of our eldest son, Charles, and his eldest son, William,” she said. “I could not be more proud of them. Indeed, I have drawn great comfort and inspiration from the relentless enthusiasm of people of all ages, especially the young, in calling for everyone to play their part.”
Her comments came as:
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•More than 100 world leaders signed a pledge to “halt and reverse” deforestation globally by 2030 in the first breakthrough at Cop26.
•The conference had an early setback when Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, said his country would not eliminate carbon emissions until 2070 — ten years after China and Russia.
•The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, had to apologise for suggesting that failure to act at Cop26 would lead to “a genocide on an infinitely greater scale” than that committed by the Nazis.
Opening the gathering, Boris Johnson implored world leaders to “defuse the bomb of climate change” as he urged them to adopt faster net-zero targets.
The prime minister was joined by Prince Charles, António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, and Sir David Attenborough, who all warned of the catastrophic consequences of inaction.
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Likening the challenge to defusing a doomsday device faced by James Bond, Johnson said that “the tragedy is this is not a movie and the doomsday device is real”. It would, he added, be the “end of human life as we know it”.
“The longer we fail to act, the worse it gets and the higher price,” he said. “If we don’t get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow.”
Referring to Greta Thunberg’s claim that talks on climate change were often little more than “blah, blah, blah”, Johnson admitted that developed countries had already “flunked” parts of the Paris agreement. “When it comes to tackling climate change, words, blah, blah, blah, without action, without deeds, are absolutely pointless and our record on deeds so far is not exactly stellar,” he said. “While Cop26 will not be the end of climate change it can and it must mark the beginning of the end.”
Johnson also paid tribute to Prince Charles’s work on the environment, saying: “I think you have been a prophet without honour for too long in this matter. You have been right for a very long time. Thank you for the leadership that you have shown.”
Charles said that the pandemic had shown “how devastating a global cross-border threat can be” but that climate change represented an “even greater existential threat”.
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Guterres said that failure at Cop26 would be “a death sentence” for millions.
President Biden said: “Within the growing catastrophe I believe there’s an incredible opportunity . . . “We have the ability to invest in ourselves and build an equitable clean energy future, and create millions of good-paying jobs.”
