Boris Johnson says he is ‘very worried’ about risk of Cop 26 not being successful – politics live

A girl she he hopes Johnson will consider her plan for a water-powered car.

Johnson says that sounds like a fantastic idea.

Q: What sacrifices will you make personnally?

Johnson says he would like everyone to stop using hydrocarbon cars. He says he would like to go back to the time when he was able to ride everywhere by bike.

A girl says all schools should have solar panels.

Johnson says that is ultimately the solution we will want.

A girl says in some countries they are burning coal because they need to pay for food.

Johnson agrees. He says it is not fair to ask poor countries to make sacrifices. That is why the richer countries are giving them $100bn a year to help.

A boy says all schools should have electric minibuses.

Johnson says that is a brilliant idea.

A boy says the government should cut the prices of electric cars and solar panels.

Johnson agrees. He says he recently spoke to manufacturers who said they would cut the price of electric vehicles very soon.

Q: Do you still support new coal mines in the UK?

Johnson says he does not want to support new coal mines.

A girl tells Johnson people do not buy electric cars because there are not enough charging points.

Johnson agrees. Most people will be able to charge their cars at home, he says.

Another girl says we need more green spaces.

Johnson says she is “completely right”. We neeed an extra trillion trees, he says.

Johnson invites his audience to tell him what he should say to world leaders.

A boy says he should tell world leaders that they need to join in too, and that is is not just the UK that is doing this.

Johnson says he will do that.

Johnson says recycling plastic is a “red herring” because plastic can only be recycled a couple of times.

Steele says there is a role for recycling.

Johnson says it does not work. People think we can recycle our way out of this problem, but we cannot, he says. He says the key thing is to reduce the use of plastic.

Johnson says he thinks world leaders are listening. He says he has spoken to many of them in recent weeks and they are making significant developments.

In particular, he cites the Australian move towards agreeing net zero by 2050. That was very significant for Australia because it produces so much coal, he says. It was a “heroic thing”, he says. He says he hopes more countries will follow.

Q: What can we do to protect the oceans and wildlife?

Johnson says he wants to ensure that 30% of oceans in the world are protected by 2030. It is the 30 x 30 campaign, he says. He says the UK can play a big part because it controls a large amount of sea. He says 30% of the world’s emperor penguins are British.

Johnson says everyone must use less plastic.

The WWF UK chief executive, Tanya Steele, who is appearing alongside Johnson, adds “we need to move away from single use anything”.

Johnson says around 12 global companies, like Coca-Cola, are producing most of the world’s plastic. He says we have to move away from that.

Steele says plastic is “quite symbolic of how we are treating our world”. It is important to take care of our resources, and not waste anything, she says.

Johnson says at Cop26 he will have to ask world leaders to take decisions that will save the planet. He says all countries are going to have to make sacrifices, like giving up coal-fired power stations.

Johnson says the children asking questions are journalists.

Q: You treated Covid like an emergency. Why are you not doing the same for climate change?

Johnson says he thinks that is a “very fair criticism”. He says they need to address this urgently. But he says a lot has happened. He says 80% of the world’s economies are now signed up to net zero.