Johnson urges Putin to reduce Russia’s net emissions to zero by 2050.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday called on Vladimir Putin to speed up Russia’s goal of achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions for 10 years, Johnson’s office said after his phone conversation with the Russian president.

The talks between the two leaders took place just days after Russian authorities announced that Putin would not participate in the UN climate summit COP26, which begins in Glasgow on Sunday.

“(Johnson) welcomed the steps taken by Russia in recent days to commit to achieving net zero emissions by 2060. The Prime Minister expressed his hope that Russia will raise the level of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 as well as make further progress in halting deforestation and the ambitious contribution identified Nationally (in emissions reduction – PAP), said a statement issued by the British Prime Minister’s Office.

As reported, Johnson said the UK and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council and major global economies with a long shared history, had a duty to work together to tackle common challenges such as climate change, and protect international agreements such as the Iranian nuclear regime.

“The Prime Minister has made it clear that the current UK relationship with Russia is not what we would like. There remain significant bilateral difficulties, including the Salisbury poisoning issue in 2018. The Prime Minister has also stressed the importance of Ukraine’s sovereignty,” Johnson said in Salisbury, in March 2018. , an attempt was made to poison former Russian agent Sergei Skripal with chemical weapons, which the United Kingdom accuses of Russian services.

Earlier on Monday, Johnson admitted he had major concerns that a deal to prevent climate change could not be reached at the Glasgow summit. “This summit is going to be very difficult. I am very concerned that it could go wrong and we may not get the agreements we need, and this is a critical situation, it is very difficult, but I think it is possible,” Johnson said while talking to children from different countries about the climate.

From London Bartłomiej Niedziński