Watch: Alok Sharma in tears as COP concludes

Well that’s the end of COP26. After a fortnight of selfies, speeches, pledges and promises, the eco-jamboree has tonight wrapped up, with Western nations expressing their ‘profound disappointment’ after China and India secured a last minute watering-down of the commitments on coal. British negotiators wanted a ‘phase out’ of unabated coal; instead the two Asian powers succeeded in substituting it for the term ‘phase down.’

There’s anger and sadness tonight from European and vulnerable nations, with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres declaring that the ‘collective political will’ was ‘not enough to overcome some deep contradictions.’ But perhaps the best expression of those sentiments was found in COP President Alok Sharma, widely-regarded as one of the more modest and reserved members of Boris Johnson’s Cabinet.

The Tory MP – who earlier in the conference dubbed himself ‘no drama Sharma’ – became emotional as he delivered his closing remarks. Holding back tears, he told attendees: ‘I apologise for the way this process has unfolded, I am deeply sorry. I