Boris Johnson has urged fellow world leaders to "grow up" and "come of age" in the battle against climate change during an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Speaking ahead of the COP26 climate change conference, which will take place in Glasgow in November the UK prime minister said that world leaders need to "recognise the scale of the challenge we face" when it comes to climate change.
"The world - this precious blue sphere with its eggshell crust and wisp of an atmosphere - is not some indestructible toy, some bouncy plastic romper room against which we can hurl ourselves to our heart's content," Johnson said.
"Daily, weekly, we are doing such irreversible damage that long before a million years are up, we will have made this beautiful planet effectively uninhabitable - not just for us but for many other species."
Speaking on how leaders need to go about addressing the situation, Johnson added: "The way to fix the problem is through science and innovation.
"The breakthroughs and the investment that are made possible by capitalism and by free markets," he added.
Many businesses are already playing their part in the fight against climate change of course, with Melrose Interiors a notable example.
Founded in 1970, Melrose Interiors is one of the foremost manufacturers, distributors and importers and rugs and associated flooring products in the UK, remaining independent to this day.
Based in Bradford, it dispatches 30,000 directly ordered deliveries per week and 1,500,000 units are dispatched on the same day each year.
However, the firm remains conscious of its environmental impact and has taken action to improve it.
"Through all aspects of our operation we are determined to continually improve our eco-footprint," the firm's sustainability statement reads.
"We passionately believe in meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of the Earth’s supporting eco-systems, is a responsibility we all share.
"By developing new green technologies that conserve natural resources we believe it is possible to use business as a catalyst for change. This is then a driving force toward ecological and societal success."
