Rishi Sunak and Justin Trudeau at COP27 follows a long line of political mutual appreciation

COP27: a chance to save the planet.

Also, COP27: an opportunity for politicians such as Rishi Sunak and Justin Trudeau to gaze into each other’s ambitious eyes.

As the sun set in Egypt, on day 10 of the 12-day climate summit, Rishi and Justin could be seen wearing matching red shirts. The pair were spotted sipping a mango spritz, for teetotal Sunak, and a Bintang beer, for Trudeau.

The matching outfits were apparently part of an organised move, as other politicians seemed to be wearing the same shirt; the reason behind this is not clear.

COP 27 aims to ensure the Paris Agreement goal of 2015 to keep the global temperature rise well below 2 degrees is on track, although some studies have said it’s too late to meet the warming limit. The inevitable can be put off for centuries, rather than years or decades, if societies act soon to cut emissions, though, the studies go on to say.

All this impending doom and yet, our latest PM for Britain, finds time to make a new best friend.

Maybe the bromance of the UK’s Rishi and Canada’s Justin can be attributed to a great desire for each country’s leader to establish better trade deals, be more effective in helping Ukraine and other conflicts around the globe. Possibly even, and excuse my blind optimism and naivety, work more successfully on environmental issues to like, save the impending apocalypse that humanity faces.

It’s not the first time we have seen mutual appreciation between world leaders. The fact Rishi Sunak (42) and Justin Trudeau (50) are of a similar age may well be helping their relationship. In the past though, we have seen many other partnerships that seemed to be a natural fit.

Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of the UK from 1979 until 1990, and Ronald Reagan, President of the US from 1981 until 1989, enjoyed an eight-year over-lap of ruling two of the western world’s most powerful nations.

An intimate and trusting relationship between former President Bill Clinton and his political soulmate, Britain’s ex-prime minister Tony Blair, evolved as they led their nations at the turn of the century.

Transcripts of phone calls and in-person meetings released by the Clinton Presidential Library in 2016 show the two leaders slogging through high-stakes diplomacy and interspersing tidbits about their lives in the gilded cages of the White House and 10 Downing Street.

One moment, Blair and Clinton are wrestling with war in the Balkans or stalled peace moves in Northern Ireland – the next they are joking about getting the U.S. leader to babysit for Blair’s infant son, Leo, or are interrupted by Clinton’s beloved dog, Buddy.

Former US president, Barack Obama also became close to Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel. The famously reserved Merkel, became his closest global partner, an alliance-turned-friendship forged by mutual political interests and parallel personalities.

Merkel faced a political blowback over her stance on refugees fleeing the war in Syria in 2016, a position praised by Obama as a matter of moral strength.

“She’s on the right side of history on this,” Obama said alongside his German counterpart in 2016, praising Merkel for confronting some ‘very tough politics’ in opening her country’s borders to nearly a million migrants in 2015.

“She is giving voice, I think, to the kinds of principles that bring people together rather than divide them, and I’m very proud of her for that, and I’m proud of the German people for that,” Obama said.

The game of politics means building alliances. Rishi and Justin are a budding possible addition to the long line of mutual appreciation in world leaders.