PM mistakenly tells press conference COP26 'was held in Edinburgh'

The Prime Minister mistakenly told a press conference that the COP26 climate conference was held in Edinburgh.

On Sunday, Boris Johnson addressed the media alongside COP26 president Alok Sharma at Downing Street regarding the success of the summit, which was held in Glasgow.

Johnson made the gaffe when responding to a question on UN secretary general Antonio Guterres’ reaction to the climate conference.

He said: “I don’t think António would want people to think that we’ve cracked it here at COP in Edinburgh, of course not.”

It follows a number of mistakes made when referencing the location of the climate summit, with former US president Barack Obama referring to Scotland as “the Emerald Isle”.

CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer was also mocked for reporting on COP26 from Edinburgh, some 40 miles away from the Scottish Events Campus where the summit was held.

During the conference, Johnson said COP26 “sounded the death knell for coal power”, but added his delight at the progress made at the summit was “tinged with disappointment”.

Boris Johnson hailed the “truly historic” outcome of the summit, describing the agreement as “game-changing”, but acknowledged not all countries were willing to meet the level of ambition expected by many.

He insisted the aim of keeping global temperatures from rising above 1.5C is “still alive”.