20 pledges for 2020: Boris Johnson and his government are still dithering on the climate crisis

Boris Johnson speaks during the launch of the UK-hosted COP26 UN climate summit (Getty)

It was the month when Boris Johnson finally found someone to oversee the Cop26 climate summit and even announced a welcome policy U-turn – but don’t get too excited.

Sadly, the past few weeks also offered further evidence of the prime minister’s apparent disinterest in how to achieve his climate commitments and triggered an explosion of frustration from campaigners.

First, the appointment. After sacking Claire O’Neill – and after being rejected by genuine big-hitters David Cameron and William Hague – the government settled on Alok Sharma to be the Cop26 president, in Glasgow in November.

Alok who, you are probably asking? And you are not alone. Mr Sharma is one of the friendliest faces at Westminster, a well-liked Tory moderate who boasts a degree in applied physics – but he is also virtually anonymous.

Alok Sharma, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (REUTERS)

Unfortunately, it did not take long to establish he has no obvious track record fighting climate change and, indeed, voted against several measures to cut carbon emissions.

Mr Sharma has kept a low-profile since the reshuffle – when he was also made business secretary – but emerged to set out his priorities for Cop26, in a speech that rather underwhelmed.

He spoke of nature-based solutions, unlocking green finance, switching to clean energy and transport, funds for developing countries.....but the response from green organisations was swift.

More than 60 penned a letter pleading for the UK to quickly “get its own house in order” and ramp up decarbonisation plans, to avoid the November gathering being a flop.

The measures demanded – an end to petrol and diesel car sales by 2030, 10 million heat pumps in homes by that date, with 50,000 hectares of trees planted every year – are simply not on the radar at present.

There was a glimmer of hope, with the surprise announcement that the four-year ban on onshore wind farms – imposed to placate Tory MPs – would be lifted.

However, environmentalists were quick to point out there was no detail on when this would happen, how many would be allowed, or how they would bypass anti-wind planning rules.

And Mr Johnson’s level of interest? Consider this response to a question asking how the UK will meet the ‘net zero’ emissions target by 2050.

“We have reduced CO₂ output by 43 per cent on 1990 levels since 2010,” he told MPs, adding: “Some 99 per cent of all the solar panels installed in this country have happened under this Conservative government....”

It was instructive, and depressing, that Mr Johnson spoke about the past, not what is needed in the future. Yet this question must be answered....in time for a summit now just eight months away.