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BORIS Johnson has urged leaders to be the James Bonds of the world - and diffuse the "doomsday device" of climate change.
In a sobering speech to open the historic Glasgow COP26 summit, the PM warned that time is running out to save the planet and demand they act now for the sake of their kids and grandkids.
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In a sombre speech watched by Sir David Attenborough, Prince Charles and Camilla, and leaders from around the globe, he called on leaders to work out how to fix the "doomsday device" and save the world.
Charles and Sir David also gave rousing speeches to the leaders at the opening session of the summit, moving some in the room to tears.
Boris said the world's most-loved spy is usually found "desperately trying to work out which coloured wire to pull to turn it off, while a red digital clock ticks down remorselessly to a detonation that will end human life as we know it".
He warned gravely: "We are in roughly the same position, my fellow global leaders, as James Bond today...
"Except that the tragedy is that this is not a movie, and the doomsday device is real."
He admitted: "Not all of us necessarily look like James Bond.
"But we have the opportunity, the duty, to make this summit the moment when humanity finally began – and I stress began – to defuse that bomb.
"And make this the moment when we began irrefutably to turn the tide and to begin the fightback against climate change."
And emulating his inner Greta Thunburg, he said the world would not accept more "blah, blah, blah" of chiefs who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk.
He told world chiefs including Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron: "Humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change.
“It’s one minute to midnight and we need to act now.
"If we don’t get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow."
In a last-gasp bid to snatch a victory Mr Johnson said: "We have to move from talk and debate and discussion to concerted, real-world action on coal, cars, cash and trees.
"We need to get real about climate change and the world needs to know when that’s going to happen."
He insisted that now had to be the start of turning the tide, adding: "while COP26 will not be the end of climate change it can and it must mark the beginning of the end.
"Let us do enough to save our planet and our way of life.
"Let us think of the billions more of the unborn whose anger will be all the greater if we fail.
"We cannot let them down."
Prince Charles joined the PM in piling the pressure on, adding: "I know you all carry a heavy burden on your shoulders and you do not need me to tell you that the eyes – and hopes – of the world are upon you to act with all despatch, and decisively – because time has run out.
"We have to put ourselves on what might be called a war-like footing."
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Ahead of banging heads together, beaming Boris bumped elbows with global counterparts as he welcomed them to rainy Scotland this morning.
Standing on the conference stage with a huge picture of Planet Earth he dialled up the charm for the men and women he's desperate to get onside.
MAKE OR BREAK
Mr Johnson has staked his legacy on making COP26 a success by getting plans for from countries to limit global warming to 1.5C as agreed in Paris six years ago.
Hopes of clinching a deal are fading fast after presidents from arch-polluters China and Russia pulled out and a furious Brexit bust-up with the French risked overshadowing the whole event.
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In an eve of summit blow, G20 leaders yesterday watered down their Net Zero pledge.
They only promised to hit the target by “mid century” rather than by 2050, as Britain had originally hoped.
While original commitments to “refrain from building new unabated coal power generation capacity in the 2030s" have been ripped out and replaced by a wishy washy language.
The PM admitted last weekend that the world had only “inched forward” in the fight against climate change at the G20.
In a sobering assessment at a press conference in Rome last night he said the chances of success in Scotland are still around six out of ten.
“It is nip and tuck, it is touch and go”, he said. “We could do hit or we could fail."
He added: "I think 1.5 C is very much in the balance. Currently we are not going to hit it."
CHARM OFFENSIVE
Britain is laying on a two-week charm offensive to try to coax and cajole the world’s leaders into taking action on climate change.
The Royal family are laying on a glitzy reception for politicians in Glasgow tonight, with Kate and William and Charles and Camilla all enlisted to work their magic on politicians.
And the Queen will deliver a video message urging the globe to act after she was ordered to stay home and rest by her doctors.
Boris will vow to lead by example by pumping an extra £1billion into projects to tackle climate change by 2025 - provided the UK economy grows as forecast.
Back in 2015, world leaders agreed to the Paris Accords which vowed to try to limit global warming to 1.5C.
But there is growing alarm that the target is irretrievably slipping as much of the globe - including China and Russia - keep guzzling mountains of polluting coal every year.
It’s one minute to midnight and we need to act now
Boris Johnson
He will say this can be done by weaning countries off coal and gas guzzling cars, providing cash and planting trees.
But there are fears COP could flop as many of the world’s biggest polluters are snubbing the summit altogether.
China, Russia, Iran and Brazil's leaders won't join the 120 leaders in Scotland - massively denting hopes a landmark deal can be done.
Yesterday, ministers and British climate experts urged the world to get on a war footing to stop climate change scorching the earth and killing future generations.
Tory peer Climate Change Tsar Lord Deben said: said it is a battle which simply “we just have to win”.
He added: “It’s like, in that sense, the Battle of Britain, we cannot possibly lose it.”
Alok Sharma, Cop26 President and Cabinet minister, warned that some countries will end up “under water” even if global warming is limited to 1.5C.
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He said: “At 1.5C, there will be countries in the world that will be under water and that’s why we need to get an agreement here on how we tackle climate change over the next decade.”
To world leaders, he added: “My message to them is very clear: leave the ghosts of the past behind you – it is Halloween today, after all.”
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Boris Johnson tells leaders ‘it’s one minute to midnight and we must act now’ as COP26 summit begins
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