Image source, PA Media

We're ending our live coverage for today. Before we go, here’s a reminder of today’s main COP26 headlines:

• UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said the deal reached at the summit was a huge step forward with its unprecedented inclusion of a coal pledge - albeit watered down
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and COP26 President Alok Sharma also hailed the "historic" and "game-changing" deal, which Johnson described as the "death knell for coal power"
• Both expressed disappointment over a crucial last minute-change to the agreement, calling for the "phase down" not the "phase out" of coal power
• Sharma said India and China would have to explain themselves to climate-vulnerable nations after they pushed for this
• But he also insisted that the change of language did not represent a failure

• However, activists and NGOs have expressed disappointment over the deal, saying it did not live up to their expectations

Today's live page coverage has been written by Jo Couzens, Alice Cuddy, Adam Durbin, Alexandra Fouché, Becky Morton and Paul Seddon. It was edited by George Bowden and Lauren Turner.

Thanks for joining us.

The UK has won praise for COP26 - but was it a success?published at 18:21 Greenwich Mean Time 14 November 2021

18:21 GMT 14 November 2021

Roger Harrabin
BBC environment analyst

Image source, Reuters

In several ways, Boris Johnson's government will be congratulating itself on the successes of the conference. The UK won praise for its diplomacy.

One British innovation was particularly effective.

The COP process under UN rules is always the lowest common denominator for consensus decisions.

The UK’s response was to launch a series of incentives outside the conference hall, then bolt them on to the COP.

They forged coalitions of the willing – not just other progressive governments but also business and civil society.

Initiatives included action on cars, finance, forests, methane - and one on coal that was much more aggressive than the weaker language adopted by the whole COP.

These bolt-ons will make a real difference.

But what about the COP itself?

The avowed intent was to keep alive the prospect of holding global average temp rise at 1.5C above pre-industrial times.

The UK said it just achieved that goal.

Believing in this requires faith that governments will deliver on all their promises, and produce tougher carbon-cutting strategies for next year.

Environmentalists doubt it, given that the government is planning more oil drilling, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget made it cheaper to drive and fly in the UK – and didn't mention climate change at all.

In the US, the American president is struggling to get his green laws passed through Congress - and his trillion-dollar infrastructure bill will stimulate more emissions by investing in roads, bridges and airports.

It will also produce millions of tonnes of carbon emissions by making the necessary steel and cement.

So, in reality, a more realistic temperature rise is likely to be much higher than 1.5C - maybe well over the 2C mark that is accepted as being catastrophic.

Even the 1.1C rise we have experienced already is producing dangerous extremes of weather.

At the moment, the climate is changing faster than the politics.

Reality Check

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told this afternoon's news conference: "Greenpeace, and I don’t want Greenpeace now to repudiate this, Greenpeace said that as a result of COP26 the era of coal is ending."

He was reacting to disappointment over the watering down of language around coal in the COP26 agreement - changing the phrase "phase-out" of "unabated" coal merely to "phase down".

Reacting to the agreement, the international executive director of Greenpeace Jennifer Morgan said, external: “It’s meek, it’s weak, and the 1.5C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters.”

She went on to say that "if you’re a coal company executive this COP saw a bad outcome".

Read more on what's been agreed here.

Image source, Reuters

We’ve just been hearing from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and COP26 President Alok Sharma.

Here’s a recap of some of the key points:

• Both politicians hailed the agreement reached at COP26. Johnson described it as “game-changing", while Sharma said it should be considered “historic”
• They highlighted the fact that language about coal was included for the first time ever in a global climate deal, which Johnson said was a “fantastic achievement”
• However, both also acknowledged disappointment in a last-minute change to the agreement, following intervention from India and China, which means it calls for the "phase down" not the "phase out" of coal power
• Johnson said that while the host country can "cajole", it cannot "force sovereign nations to do what they do not wish to do"
• Sharma, meanwhile, said China and India would "have to explain themselves" to developing countries affected by climate change
• But he also said the fact that language on coal got into the agreement “means that we can push further on that particular issue in the future”
• Sharma and Johnson also said India should be commended for its work on climate change
• Asked about the UN secretary general’s comments that the deal would fail to keep global warming below 1.5C, Johnson said COP had provided "hope"

• Sharma said there had been a chance the deal would not get over the line, and stressed that key passages on financial support were critical for nations already suffering from the effects of climate change

You can read more in our main story here.

Just a bit more on the government and transport.

When he was asked how he got back from Glasgow so quickly, COP26 President Alok Sharma was quick to assure everyone he took the train.

In response, Prime Minister Boris Johnson joked Sharma was "showing off" his green credentials.

On the more serious question of emissions linked to air travel, Sharma emphasised it is a "personal choice".

"What you need to do is incentivise people, I've always believed in carrot rather than stick."

He added the government is investing in developing sustainable aviation fuels.

The panel are asked what they will do "personally" to help curb climate change.

The PM says he "used to go everywhere by bike", which "made some small contribution".

Alok Sharma had been asked how he got to London so quickly - he says he travelled by train and electric car.

Boris Johnson also sends his best wishes to the Queen, who did not attend this morning's Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph after a back sprain.

He says he just wants to "reassure everybody" by saying she was "very well" when he saw her for his weekly official audience with her in Windsor on Wednesday.

That marks the end of the conference.

COP26 President Alok Sharma echoes the prime minister's praise for India's work on climate change.

He emphasises the Indian government had committed "really quite ambitious" targets on reducing emissions, with plans for 50% of their power to come from renewables by 2030.

"And I think we should commend them for that," he adds.

Asked if he would make more stringent climate change targets part of any trade deal with India, Boris Johnson says he doesn't see a reason to introduce them into any negotiations.

The PM adds the UK has a "great relationship" with India.

India, alongside China, were the main voice behind the concession on the language around coal introduced late on yesterday.

Johnson says India came up with "some really impressive" commitments on decarbonising.

Alok Sharma is asked whether he thinks he failed in not pushing for more on coal in the final deal - and if he is now eyeing up a new cabinet post after chairing the COP26 summit.

He replies that he would have "preferred stronger language" on coal, but is glad a commitment was included at all. He dodges the question on his job, saying he will "leave that to the prime minister".

Boris Johnson doesn't give any clues on where Sharma could go next - pointing out he still has another year to go in his role.

He does not address a question on whether the row over lobbying and MPs' behaviour at Westminster held back the summit, adding that leaders have now "given ourselves the tools" to tackle climate warming.

And asked to rate the final deal out of 10, the prime minister replies: "the outcome is over six out of 10".

Addressing the concession over the language on coal in the agreement, COP26 President Alok Sharma says "you phase down before you phase out".

He reiterates this is the first agreement to mention ambitions to reduce the use of the fossil fuel at all.

"It means at future COPs we can push further on the issue," he says.

Asked about his emotional reaction to the deal, when he was visibly seen holding back tears, Sharma says it was "just relief" that the deal had come off - and admitted he'd had "about six hours' sleep in three days".

Asked about the UN Secretary General's António Guterres comments saying the deal would fail to keep global warming bellow 1.5C, Boris Johnson says Glasgow has provided "hope".

He emphasises the agreement has led to many countries focusing on "very specific deliverables" of how to reduce their emissions.

Johnson adds the conference has created a roadmap to "plot the way ahead" and he was optimistic it could be done.

Boris Johnson is asked about his comments prior to the summit that the world was at "one minute to midnight" on climate change.

The PM replies that it would be a "fatal mistake" to "think we've in any way cracked this thing" - but he is much more optimistic now about the pace of change.

Alok Sharma is asked whether China and India have "let down" the world by pushing for the commitment on coal to be watered down - saying it would be phased down, rather than phased out.

He replies that they will "have to explain themselves" to developing countries affected by climate change.

But he says getting a commitment on phasing down coal was nevertheless a success - noting it's the first time this has been made in the final text of a COP agreement.

If no deal had been agreed, then vulnerable and developing countries would have been left without support, Alok Sharma says.

He adds the key passages on financial support, called "loss and damage" in the agreement, were critical for nations already suffering from the effects of climate change.

"I can tell you there was that one hour where I really felt there was a chance there we were not going to get this deal over the line," he says.

COP26 President Alok Sharma emphasises that the agreement should be considered "historic".

He explains that a matter of a few weeks ago, nobody would have believed they would be able to even get a mention of coal in the climate agreement - but they managed it in just two weeks.

The PM says that success in combatting climate change is "totally contingent" on governments around the world sticking to their commitments on reducing emissions.

He adds that he believes in a matter of a few years it will soon become "totally unacceptable" to build a new coal fired power station.

In response to a question on whether the conference could be considered a success, Boris Johnson says the conference was "never going to be able to halt climate change" alone.

However he adds the conference means we were able to "equip ourselves with the tools" to do so.

Wrapping up his opening comments, Boris Johnson says the COP summit has succeeded in slowing the rate of global warming - but this will still remain "far too much".

But he says that after the conference, humanity is "heading in the right direction".

Boris Johnson notes, however, that despite the achievements of the summit, his reaction to the conference is “tinged with disappointment".

He says ultimately, it is up to countries to make their own commitments on climate change.

He says that whilst the host country can "cajole", it cannot "force sovereign nations to do what they do not wish to do".

“Sadly that’s the nature of diplomacy," adds the PM.

There's been a lot of talk about the agreement on coal - after COP countries only committed to "phase down" rather than "phase out" coal.

But the prime minister says this is nevertheless a "fantastic achievement" - and the conference has "sounded the death knell for coal power".

UK PM Boris Johnson gets the press conference under way by saying the COP26 agreement was "truly historic".

He says the agreement was the "kind of game-changing agreement that world needed to see".