Humanity Must 'Grow Up' to Fight Climate Change: Boris Johnson at UN

The UK PM said it is time to pay heed to the warnings of scientists and understand what we are doing.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

(Photo: AP)

In an urgent appeal to the world, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged global leaders to step up and combat climate change at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, 22 September.

He also emphasised that the upcoming summit in Glasgow on climate change, called Climate Change Conference (COP26), must be a "turning point for humanity", reported The Guardian.

He referred to the world as a "precious blue sphere" with an "eggshell crust" and a "wisp of atmosphere" and warned that it would become uninhabitable for humans and many other species if no action was taken in the near future.

Comparing humanity to a 16-year-old and demanding that it "grow up", Johnson warned that the world was "not some indestructible toy" which "we can hurl ourselves to our heart’s content."

Highlighting that advancements in technology had made cleaner energy sources not just cheaper but also more obtainable than before, Johnson emphatically claimed that "it is easy to be green".

He urged more countries to financially contribute towards the cause, arguing that humans "have an awesome power to change things and to change things for the better".

But he also said that in the next 40 days, we all "must choose what kind of awesome we are going to be".

He was referring to the 2021 United Nations COP26 that is scheduled to be held in the first two weeks of November in Glasgow under the leadership of the United Kingdom.

(With inputs from The Guardian and Reuters)