Martin Ivens, Columnist

Tories Aren’t Buying Boris as Born-Again Environmentalist

The prime minister needs to explain how the U.K. can realistically reach its climate goals. Or skeptics in his party will do the math for him.

October 23, 2021 at 6:00 AM UTC

By Martin Ivens

Martin Ivens is the editor of the Times Literary Supplement. Previously, he was editor of the Sunday Times of London and its chief political commentator.

Think green.
Photographer: MATT DUNHAM/AFP

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Move over Greta Thunberg, step aside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Here comes Boris Johnson, reborn as eco-warrior and genial host of the United Nations COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

At the UN General Assembly a few weeks ago, the U.K.’s shape-shifting prime minister announced his conversion to the cause of saving the planet: “My friends, the adolescence of humanity is coming to an end … we must show we are finally taking responsibility for the destruction, not just of our planet but ourselves. It is time for humanity to grow up.”