Boris Johnson has said that he is looking forward to talking about the issue of climate change with President-elect Biden.
The Prime Minister said that with Joe Biden in the White House he believes there is “the real prospect of American global leadership in tackling climate change”.
On Brexit, he also reiterated that the purpose of the Internal Market Bill is to “protect and uphold the Good Friday Agreement”.
Earlier today, Dominic Raab confirmed the Prime Minister was expected to call President-Elect Biden today.
“The United States is our closest and most important ally, and that has been the case president after president, prime minister after prime minister – it won’t change,” the Prime Minister told broadcasters on Sunday.
“I look forward very much to working with President Biden and his team on a lot of crucial stuff for us in the weeks and months ahead: tackling climate change, trade, international security, many, many other issues.”
Speaking on Marr, Boris Johnson added that a Brexit deal with the EU is “there to be done” and that there is “a good chance” of the UK securing a trade deal with the United States.
He said: “I’ve always been a great enthusiast for a trade deal with our European friends and partners, I think it is there to be done.
“The broad outlines are pretty clear, we just need to get on and do it if we can. I’ve said that to Ursula von der Leyen just yesterday and she totally agrees with me.
“On the trade deal with the US, I am a keen student of the United States trade policy and they’re tough negotiators, and I’ve never believed this was going to be something that was going to be a complete pushover under any US administration.
“I think there is a good chance we’ll do something – Liz Truss and her team’s made a huge amount of progress – and we’ll get on.”
He said: “I am sure that President Biden and Kamala Harris with their well-known commitment on this issue are going to be able to get the United States, with all its influence, with all its power and might, to turn and focus on the issue of net zero by 2050.
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“I see that President Biden shares a slogan of ‘build back better’, and we claim no propriety rights over that slogan, but when you come to build back better, one of the ways to do it is through a green industrial revolution."
He added: “Green energy, green home building, green transport, EVs, all the rest of it. Those measures can not only reduce your C02 emissions and enable us to get to net zero by 2050, but they’re also capable of really moving the economy forwards.
“We look forward to talking about that issue with the White House as well.
“Already you’ve got country after country lining up to support the ambition of net zero by 2050.
“So Japan came through, Korea came through, even China has come through with a plan to do it by 2060, which is absolutely fantastic for the world.
“I think now with President Biden in the White House in Washington we have the real prospect of American global leadership in tackling climate change.
“The UK, as you know, was the first major country to set out that objective of net zero by 2050, we led the way a few years ago, and we’re really hopeful now that President Biden will follow and will help us to deliver a really good outcome at the COP26 summit next year in Glasgow.”
Asked if he is determined to pass the Internal Market Bill through Parliament as it is, the Prime Minister said: “Yes, as I told Ursula (von der Leyen) the parliamentary timetable goes ahead and the whole point of that Bill and indeed the Finance Bill is to protect and uphold the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process in Northern Ireland.
“That is one of the things that we’re united on with our friends in the White House.”
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