We’re on the brink of catastrophe, warns Tory climate chief

Cop26 meeting is last chance, says Alok Sharma as he backs UK's plan for new oil and gas fields

• Government censured for gaffe after gaffe in run-up to Cop26

The world will soon face catastrophe" from climate breakdown if urgent action is not taken, the British president of vital UN climate talks has warned.

Alok Sharma, the UK minister in charge of the Cop26 talks to be held in Glasgow this November, told the Observer that the consequences of failure would be catastrophic": I don't think there's any other word for it. You're seeing on a daily basis what is happening across the world. Last year was the hottest on record, the last decade the hottest decade on record."