COP26 has opened with the weight of hope placed on its outcome, with both Prince Charles and Boris Johnson making dire warnings of failure to achieve a good result.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the world is at "one minute to midnight" whilst Prince Charles soberly called it a “literally the last chance saloon” at the G20 Summit in Rome.

The Prime Minister, starting proceedings at COP26 as world leaders arrived has also acknowledged that previous pledges have been too vague and insufficient to achieve protection for the planet.

One particular issue will be the duty of the developed nations of the world to help those developing nations to transition when fossil fuels remain cheaper and a faster route to improving living conditions. Another major point will be the need to rein in the major emitters, such as China, and whether they can be relied upon to keep promise made, even if these promises are forthcoming.

To the first issue, the Prime Minister has already said that he will add an extra £1bn over the next four years to help developing countries, but the Government has already conceded that the developed world cannot fulfil its promise made in 2009 to pay poorer countries $100bn a year to help tackle climate change following the pandemic.

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