Cop26: The Prime Minister is in the US for climate change talks

The prime minister is meeting other world leaders to discuss climate change ahead of the COP26 conference

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is currently in the US where he's meeting with other global leaders to talk about climate change issues.

The United Nations (UN) meeting comes just two months before the UK hosts the latest COP26 event which will be taking place in Glasgow in November.

100 world leaders are expected in New York at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) this week and Mr Johnson is looking to encourage other nations to take important action to address the impacts of climate change during a series of high-level meetings.

Money promises

At the 2009 climate conference in Copenhagen, wealthy countries promised to provide $100 billion every year by 2020 to help poorer nations tackle the effects of climate change.

However, ahead of the latest UN meeting, the prime minister admitted that persuading richer countries to stick to their climate fund pledges this week will "be a stretch".

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the progress made so far has been "disappointing", with developing countries receiving a total of $79.6 billion in 2019.

Lots of demonstrations took place during the last climate conference

"I think getting it all done this week is going to be a stretch," Mr Johnson said as he travelled to New York on Sunday to attend the UN General Assembly.

He added that he saw the chances of getting it done before the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November as "six out of 10".

"It's going to be tough but people need to understand that this is crucial for the world," he said.

"We only have a short time left. World leaders must deliver on their climate commitments ahead of @COP26," Johnson said in a tweet.

Why is the climate fund important?

The UN climate fund is the main source of finance for the Paris Agreement, a series of environmental promises which world leaders came up with back in 2015.

A number of key actions were agreed upon as part of the agreement and this included capping the rise in global temperatures at "well below" 2C and limited to 1.5C if possible.

Rich countries said they would give billions of dollars to poor nations each year which are already coping with floods, heatwaves, rising seas and super-storms made worse by climate change.

However, there are concerns developed countries won't stick to their $100 billion target.

What else will Boris Johnson be doing in America?

Mr Johnson will meet with Joe Biden

As well attending the UNGA, Boris Johnson will visit Washington where he'll be meeting with US President Joe Biden in the White House for the first time.