Kingston residents have labelled annual climate change summit COP26 a failure, due to leaders’ lack of unity and the unlikelihood of the pact changing British views.
A Kingston Courier survey showed that 82 per cent of Kingston residents thought the final pact agreed in Glasgow on Saturday was a failure.
This compared to 6 per cent of residents who thought the agreed deal on the climate crisis was a success. Another 12 per cent of Kingston residents did not have an opinion on the final agreement. A total of 111 Kingston residents took part in the survey.
Ken Cheshire said: “There was no unifying global mission, all parties at the conference had to have an eye on their national support base.”
However, some residents feared the real failure of COP26 was the fact it was unlikely to change British habits.
Adam Sheppard said: “Many won’t give up or change their creature comforts even when it will save them money.”
The climate pact also brought up questions from residents as to how the UK would cut its greenhouse emissions, which was a decision included in the deal.
Sheppard said: “I fully support a mix of renewables and nuclear, but some activists don’t appreciate that nuclear is a clean power source.”
Following COP26, the government has planned to put £1.7 billion in funding towards a new nuclear power station, Sizewell C. The nuclear station would add two new reactors to the seven currently in the UK.
The use of nuclear power does remain a controversial source of clean energy among some environmentalists, due to the possible health risks and environmental damage.
Some residents said it was too early to judge whether the climate change pact was a success.
