The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged the public not to “despair” over climate change as he said there are “real reasons to hope” in 2022.

The Most Rev Justin Welby used his new year’s message on BBC 1 to address the issue, following a year in which the UK hosted the UN’s climate summit in Glasgow.

“When it comes to climate change, it is tempting to despair,” Mr Welby said in quotes aired on BBC Radio 5.

In a speech given in Rome ahead of the summit, Mr Welby said over the past 100 years humanity had “declared war” on creation and must repent by not only building a green economy but by bringing justice to the global south.

“I have run out of time,” he said at the end of his speech. “The world has just enough time to get this right.”

Potentially the most significant development from Cop26 was China and the US, the world’s biggest emitters of CO2, pledging to act in a joint declaration made in a surprise announcement.