13 May 2021
•
4 min read
The COP26 summit is due to take place in Glasgow in November 2021 | Credit: Mario Guti
Decision to hold the crucial climate talks in person, rather than virtually, would be seen as a major win for the UK's COP26 presidency
The UK looks set to push for world leaders and diplomats to meet face-to-face in Glasgow at the critical COP26 Climate Summit later this year, according to reports, despite on-going safety concerns arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
COP26 President Alok Sharma is expected to deliver a speech in Glasgow tomorrow morning, during which he is likely to confirm a decision has been taken to hold the event in-person, rather than undertaking the crucial talks virtually, The Sun reported this morning.
If confirmed, the decision is likely to be welcomed by climate campaigners and diplomats keen to secure an ambitious outcome on a raft of outstanding issues underpinning the Paris Agreement, climate finance for vulnerable nations, and rules governing carbon credits. There has been a broad consensus among those nations pushing for an ambitious agreement, business groups, and environmental campaigners that a virtual summit would increase the likelihood of any eventual agreement being watered down, with observers fearing that online talks would disadvantage developing nations and lock out the civil society groups that traditionally attend the two-week event.
As such a decision to hold the talks in person would be seen as a major win for the UK government, which as host of COP26 is under significant pressure to rally countries towards raising their climate action commitments in order to keep hopes of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C alive. It will also be seen as a significant vote of confidence in the UK's vaccine rollout, with safety concerns surrounding the pandemic having already once forced a year-long postponement of COP26 from 2020.
However, fears remain that the preparations for an in-person summit could yet be disrupted by the on-going pandemic, with India and a number of other countries continuing to face a major health crisis and scientists warning that coronavirus variants could yet dilute the effectiveness of vaccine rollouts.
As such, how the two-week summit operates in practice in line with potential Covid-19 restrictions remains to be seen. Concerns will continue to be raised about the potential impact of thousands of people from around the world descending on Glasgow in November during the midst of a deadly pandemic, and it remains unclear at present whether civil society groups and businesses will be able to attend the event, as is traditionally the case, and whether attendees will need to have 'vaccine passports' to permit entry.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly determined to hold the event in-person, viewing the summit as a major opportunity to promote 'Global Britain' and demonstrate leadership on the climate crisis and the net zero transition in the wake of the UK's exit from the European Union.
Next month the UK is also due to host the G7 summit in Cornwall, at which the Prime Minister has sought to push the climate and biodiversity crises to the top of the agenda, in a bid to build further momentum ahead of COP26.
Yesterday, Johnson joined with major business groups from across the world in urging the G7 to lead international action to address the climate and biodiversity crises as part of a swift and green recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.
"We must take that same spirit of collaboration and leadership as we build back better, capitalise on opportunities in trade and technology, and fight climate change and biodiversity loss," Johnson said. "Together we must push for greater ambition across the G7 to tackle our shared challenges."
The latest reports came as Sir Patrick Vallance - who as the UK's chief scientific advisor has played a leading role in the government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic - was yesterday handed a crucial new role in planning for the upcoming Glasgow Summit as chief scientific advisor for COP26.
Announcing Vallance's appointment yesterday, Sharma said the move would "send a strong message about the importance of being guided by science as we tackle the crisis".
Speaking to at a science conference yesterday, Sharma stressed it was "vital" for politicians and policymakers to solicit the expertise of scientists in decision making.
"Whether that is a climate modeller projecting the likelihood of future heat stress and drought, or social scientists understanding the barriers to the uptake of new technologies, you are absolutely integral to our efforts to tackle the climate crisis," he said. "And it is vital that science is at the heart of international efforts to tackle climate change, and that we are guided by the evidence."
