"This world - this precious blue sphere with its eggshell crust and wisp of an atmosphere - is not some indestructible toy.

We must come together in a collective coming of age. We must show we have the maturity and wisdom to act. And we can."

Boris Johnson's words electrified the room. The British Prime Minister stood up at the UN in New York and made a heartfelt plea.

Johnson is desperate for the Glasgow climate summit to be a success.

Here are his five key messages:

1. Folly of youth. The average mammalian species lasts for a million years, but humanity is just 200,000-years-old. We are just a teenager. We believe that someone else will clean up the messes we have made. It is time to start taking responsibility.

2. Inaction means disaster. If we do nothing to change the course of climate change, world temperatures will rise by 2.7CTemperatures could rise by 2.7C by the end of this century. But leaders hope warming can be limited to 1.5C.. Ice floes will melt, lush grasslands will turn into desert. Our grandchildren will call us selfish.

3. Capitalism is key. Cutting carbon emissions does not mean cutting jobs. Saving the world does not mean tearing down the economy. Science and innovation, made possible by the free marketWhen the government does not interfere with the economy, and the laws of supply and demand dictate trading. , has given us offshore wind, electric cars and even farming robots.

4. Our responsibility. Britain's success in eliminating coal shows it can be done. But the West must remember who first sent acrid puffs of smoke into the air. Nation states and private companies must play their part.

5. The choice ahead. Sophocles is famous for saying nothing in the world is more terrifying than man. Humanity is capable of our own destruction. But Sophocles actually called man deinos. Which means we are not just scary, but awesome.

The Glasgow summit will not be the first time world leaders try to solve climate change. In 2015, 196 nations hailed a historic moment as they signed the Paris AgreementAn agreement signed by 196 countries to try to limit global warming.. 

But less than two years later, Donald Trump announced the USA's withdrawalSymptoms experienced when drug users stop taking the substances they are addicted to. from the agreement. Between 2015 and 2019, carbon emissions rose. 

Yet many believe this summit will be different. The world is still reeling from Covid-19. The pandemic proved that no nation is invincible.

Others think the extreme weather of summer 2021 will prove to be a wake-up call. "It feels like the first inkling of an apocalypticReferring to the end of the world, or the collapse of civilisation. movie," said Washington governor Jay Inslee as his state burned.

For Johnson, there are already some positive signs. Joe Biden committed to doubling US climate funds. China has promised to stop paying for coal fired power stations overseas. 

Yes. The world has been shocked into action. There is no reason why leaders cannot achieve the goal of carbon neutralityWhen there is a balance between carbon emissions and the CO2 being removed from the atmosphere. It is also known as net zero. by 2050. After all, it is their own lives they are saving. 

No. Even UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres thinks the summit runs a "high risk of failure". World leaders will always put their own countries' financial interests ahead of the future good of the Earth.