Boris Johnson has laughed off calls from his science chief for people to cut down on meat to save the environment - joking that he is cutting down on food generally.
The PM, who has famously struggled with his weight, made the quip as he was asked about Sir Patrick Vallance saying he had opted to eat less meat.
Mr Johnson admitted he had experience a long 'road to Damascus' over the importance of tackling climate change.
Boris Johnson laughed off calls from his science chief for people to cut down on meat to save the environment - joking that he is cutting down on food generally - while en route to the G20 summit in Rome and ahead of next month's Cop26 climate summit
He said he had been swayed by an early briefing from experts when he entered Downing Street.
Speaking to reporters en route to the G20 summit in Rome, he said: 'I got them to run through it all, and if you look at the almost vertical kink upward in the temperature graph, the anthropogenic climate change, it's very hard to dispute.
'That was a very important moment for me.'
But when pushed if he was following Sir Patrick's example by eating less meat as a way to limit his carbon footprint, Mr Johnson laughed and referenced his health kick.
'I'm eating a bit less of everything, which may be an environmentally friendly thing to do,' he said.
The Prime Minister's comments came after Vallance told BBC Breakfast on Friday that his key message to world leaders at Cop26 'is that 1.5C is both important and achievable, but it requires urgent action - evidence-based, science-based action.
'We need collaboration internationally across science to make sure that we get science innovation across the world globally accessible, and we need to build capacity for research and development in those countries which need it in order to get to the solution.'
Asked what a good result from Cop26 would look like, he said there is a 'need to commit to active plans' and a 'lot needs to happen this decade'.
He said there is also a need to make a big investment in technology, and to 'make the green choice the easy choice' for individuals, adding that he cycles to work, has cut his meat consumption and is flying less.
Asked about the Budget incentive to encourage flying around the UK and whether it sent the wrong message, Sir Patrick said his scientific advice is that 'all of us taking some action to reduce flying would be a beneficial thing' and there is a need to get to a sustainable way of flying.
Earlier this year, sources revealed that Johnson's weight-loss drive had been so successful that he's had to splash out on a new wardrobe after dropping a suit size.
The PM, who has famously struggled with his weight, made the quip as he was asked about Sir Patrick Vallance (pictured in London, October 28) saying he had opted to eat less meat
They claimed he has even been throwing away his old clothes to motivate himself to keep off the weight.
By March, it was reported that Mr Johnson - who was 16st 7 lb when he caught Covid
