"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. On Wednesday, the British Prime Minister stood up at the UN in New York and made a heartfelt plea.

Johnson is desperate for next month's Glasgow climate summit to be a success. He wants it to be remembered as the moment leaders agreed to "blow out the candles on a world on fire".

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. In human terms, we are just a teenager. We believe in our own immortality, and that someone else will clean up the messes we have made. It is time to start taking responsibility for our actions.

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, crops will fail and people will flee their homes. Our grandchildren will call us selfish, and they will be right.

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. The green revolution is nothing to be afraid of.

4. Our responsibility. Britain's success in eliminating coal shows the developing world it can be done. But the West must remember who first sent acrid puffs of smoke into the air. Everyone who can must play their part. This includes nation states, but also private companies.

5. The choice ahead. Sophocles is famous for saying nothing in the world is more terrifying than man. It is true - humanity is capable of our own destruction. But Sophocles actually called man deinos. Which means we are not just scary, but awesome. We can save ourselves if we choose to.

Of course, the Glasgow summit will not be the first time world leaders try to solve climate change. In December 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 promises are fragile. Less than two years later, Donald Trump announced the USA's withdrawalThe US finally withdrew from the Paris Agreement in November 2020. The country rejoined under President Biden this year.  from the agreement. Between 2015 and 2019, carbon emissions rose rather than fell. 

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

And 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. This week, Joe Biden committed to doubling US climate funds. Meanwhile, China has promised to stop paying for coal fired power stations overseas. 

Now is the time for optimism, say some. The world has been shocked into action, first by the pandemic and now by natural disasters. 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. 

Cop26 will be another week of meaningless speeches and empty promises, say others. Even UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres thinks the summit runs a "high risk of failure". In the end, world leaders will always put their own countries' immediate financial interests ahead of the future good of the Earth.