British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the US could become more of a global leader on the climate crisis with President-elect Joe Biden.
“I think now with President Biden in the White House in Washington, we have the real prospect of American global leadership in tackling climate change,” Johnson said in an interview with the Associated Press.
“And the UK, as you know, was the first major country to set out that objective of net-zero by 2050. We led the way a few years ago. And we’re really hopeful now that President Biden will follow and will help us to deliver a really good outcome of the COP 26 summit next year in Glasgow,” Johnson added.
Biden has promised to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement on his first day in office.
Johnson said that although he had not spoken to Biden, he looked forward to working with the new government in Washington.
“I congratulate President Biden, president-elect Biden, very much on his victory,” Johnson said. “And of course, I congratulate Kamala Harris on being the first female vice president, as she will become, in the history of the United States.”
On the subject of a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, Mr Johnson said he knows the Americans will be tough negotiators but he believes it can be done.
While he acknowledged that Biden has spoken out against Brexit and fears it will undermine the Good Friday Agreement in Ireland, Johnson said he thinks that he and the US government will be united on that topic.
“The whole point of that bill and indeed the Finance Bill is to protect and uphold the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process in Northern Ireland,” maintained Johnson. “And again, that’s one of the things that we’re united on with our friends in the White House.”