Boris Johnson made a joke to children about how humans could be fed to animals to save the planet.
The PM made the quip as he faced a grilling from youngsters about his environmental plans in the £2.6million Downing Street briefing room.
Faced with a group of children, he made a lighthearted joke in reference to the imbalance in nature where humans and domesticated animal make up the majority of mammals on Earth.
He also admitted that he was concerned about the UN Cop26 climate conference being a failure.
The Prime Minister will be welcoming world leaders to Glasgow for this summit, but it is ‘touch and see’ if key goals will be achieved.
He also lashed out at Coca Cola over plastics and said he does not ‘want to support new coal mines’, as ministers face pressure to prevent a site opening in Cumbria.
The PM was taking questions with WWF UK’s Tanya Steele in No9 Downing Street when they faced a question about the balance of nature on Earth
Ms Steele told the children: ‘I think we need to bring nature back… Our planet, 97 per cent of the mass of mammals on this planet is humans and our animals, our domestic animals. Just 3 per cent is left for the wild.’
The Prime Minister said it was ‘so sad’ and added: ‘We could feed some of the human beings to the animals.’
Ms Steele replied: ‘We could have a vote later and ask if there’s any candidates.’
The PM made the joke as he faced a grilling from youngsters about his environmental plans in the £2.6million Downing Street briefing room.
Facing a crowd of youngsters he made the quip in relation to address the imbalance in nature, where humans and domesticated animals make up the vast majority of mammals on the planet.
Mr Johnson admitted he fears the major international climate change summit he will host from Sunday could fail to make the progress needed.
The Prime Minister will welcome world leaders to Glasgow for the United Nations Cop26 summit but said it was ‘touch and go’ whether key goals would be met.
‘We need as many people as possible to go to net zero so that they are not producing too much carbon dioxide by the middle of the century,’ he said.
‘Now, I think it can be done. It’s going to be very, very tough, this summit.
‘And I’m very worried, because it might go wrong and we might not get the agreements that we need. It’s touch and go.’
The PM was answering questions from Tanya Steele of WWF UK in No9 Downing Street as they dealt with a question on the balance between nature and man on Earth.
Downing Street later assisted Mr Johnson when he set out the’realistic position’ and presented a downbeat assessment on his chances at Cop26.
The official spokesperson for the Prime Minister stated that they had made progress with a few countries. Saudi Arabia, for example, has made some commitments.
“But, the Prime Minister was simply stating the real situation that it is difficult and challenging to get countries around the globe to sign up for ambitious targets such like these that require tangible promises. This will require intense negotiation.
Johnson stated that some nations could be forced to act if there is peer pressure at the UN summit.
However, it is possible that this tactic may not be a success as some of the world’s most powerful leaders, such as China’s Xi Jinping are expected to avoid the country due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Johnson acknowledged that ‘it’s very difficult to know if we will make the progress we need’, but he did praise Australia for its ‘heroic’ decision to commit itself to net zero by 2050.
Questioned by Downing Street students, the Prime Minister pointed out that Coca-Cola was one of 12 corporations that ‘produce the overwhelming bulk’ of the world’s plastics.
He stated that there are 12 companies, 12 large corporations, currently producing the majority of the world’s plastics.
“Big, well-known drinks companies that you may be familiar with but I won’t name. I don’t know the reason, but I won’t name them.
After stating that he wouldn’t name any of these companies, he continued: “Coca-Cola, for example, and other firms which are responsible for large quantities of plastic, we’ve to move away from that and find other ways to package and sell our stuff.
Johnson stated that recycling plastic doesn’t work because it reduces the amount of material being used.
During a press event at No 10, he stated: “Recycling isn’t the solution.” It doesn’t address the problem.
He stated that “the only solution” was to reduce our plastic use.
Tanya Steele, chief executive at WWF UK, said alongside Mr Johnson: “We have to reduce, reuse – I think we need to do some recycling, PM, with some system to do it.”
Johnson replied, “It doesn’t work.”