The world is getting "dangerously close" to running out of time to avert catastrophic climate change, Cop26 President Alok Sharma has said.
Mr Sharma - who is tasked with making a success of the upcoming United Nations climate talks in Glasgow - said failing to limit warming to 1.5C would be "catastrophic".
In an interview with the Guardian, the British politician said a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, due to be published tomorrow, would be the "starkest warning yet" about what the future could hold.
"You're seeing on a daily basis what is happening across the world. Last year was the hottest on record, the last decade the hottest decade on record," he said.
He said Cop26 "has to be the moment we get this right", adding: "We can't afford to wait two years, five years, ten years - this is the moment."
"I don't think we're out of time but I think we're getting dangerously close to when we might be out of time," Mr Sharma said.
"We will see (from the IPCC report) a very, very clear warning that unless we act now, we will unfortunately be out of time."
He added: "Every fraction of a degree rise makes a difference and that's why countries have to act now."
"We're seeing the impacts across the world - in the UK or the terrible flooding we've seen across Europe and China, or forest fires, the record temperatures that we've seen in North America," he said.
"Every day you will see a new high being recorded in one way or another across the world."
Despite his powerful warnings, Mr Sharma refused to condemn plans for a new oilfield off the coast of Shetland, that could see a further 150 to 170 million barrels extracted.
The Cop26 climate talks are due to take place from 31 October to 12 November in Glasgow.
While Mr Sharma focuses on building international support for action, at home the Government faces tough decisions over how to meet its net zero pledge - and who pays.
Meanwhile, earlier this week a European Union atmosphere monitor has said the Mediterranean has become a wildfire hotspot, with Turkey hit by its most intense blazes on record and a heatwave producing a high risk of further fires and smoke pollution around the region.
