UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stated that he is "cautiously optimistic" about the prospects for a deal at the ongoing 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow to keep world temperature rises below 1.5C.
Speaking at a COP26 press conference on Tuesday, he added that there is "a long way to go" in the fight to tackle climate change.
Keeping the world on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels was the goal set at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015.
According to Johnson, the doomsday clock "is still ticking", but "we've got a bomb disposal team on site" and "they're starting to snip the wires – I hope some of the right wires".
"We've pulled back a goal, or perhaps even two, and I think we are going to be able to take this thing to extra-time, because there's no doubt that some progress has been made", the British prime minister stated.
BoJo said that much would depend on the outcome of talks with China, one of the world's biggest emitters of fossil fuel carbon dioxide. The focus is on trying to prod Chinese negotiators to bring forward Beijing's promise for its emissions to peak in 2030 by five years.
"You bet we need more progress from China […]. There's a world of difference between peaking in 2030 […] and peaking in 2025. That's where we're keeping the pressure up", Johnson said.
China is said to be one of those countries pushing back against a focus on restricting global temperature rises to 1.5C.
The UK prime minister said "one thing that gives me optimism - for the countries who find it most difficult to transition from fossil fuels - we're starting to form those coalitions to help them".
He warned, however, of global economic and environmental catastrophes that may occur if countries "don't fix their climate".
The remarks came after Johnson welcomed a promise by the leaders of more than 100 countries to halt and reverse deforestation by the end of the decade and slash methane emissions by 2030, in a bid to slow climate change.
Separately, the nations vowed to donate $19.2 billion to developing countries in order to restore land damaged by wildfires and agricultural activity as well as to protect forests. At least $1.7 billion of the funding will be sent to indigenous peoples and local communities, who are involved in tackling deforestation.