The United Kingdom has received what appears to be a huge boost for its work to tackle climate change as international allies formally gave their backing for the country to host the 26th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2020.
The event, which will hold in Glasgow, Scotland, will bring together over 30,000 delegates from around the world, including climate experts, business leaders and citizens to agree ambitious action to tackle climate change.
The announcement, made on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, means the UK is now officially backed by the group of countries responsible for nominating the 2020 host.
This follows Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s commitment at the G7 Summit in Biarritz to ensure that the COP26 Summit addresses both climate change and biodiversity as two sides of the same coin.
Britain expects its nomination to be formally accepted at December’s COP25 summit in Chile. It hopes to host COP26 in partnership with Italy in 2020.
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, welcomed the development, saying: “The UK has just received a huge vote of confidence from our international partners. We’re poised to host the next major global climate negotiations, in partnership with Italy. Over 30,000 delegates from around the world will come together to commit to ambitious action to tackle climate change.
“We’re ready to bring the world together to make sure we leave our precious environment in a better state for our children.”
Claire Perry, UK nominated President for COP26, said: “In 2020, world leaders will come together to discuss how to tackle climate change on a global scale – and where better to do so than Glasgow, one of the UK’s most sustainable cities with a great track record for hosting high-profile international events.
“I welcome the nomination from our partners in the UN regional group to host COP26 in Glasgow in partnership with Italy. The UK is a world-leader in emissions reduction, and we have recently committed to reducing our net emissions to zero.”
International Development Secretary, Alok Sharma, noted: “This nomination is testimony to the UK’s leading role in the global fight against climate change. UK aid has helped millions of people in developing countries to access clean energy and prepare for the impact of climate change. This is protecting our planet for future generations.”
