Ollie Rudden
Deputy News Editor
The UK, in partnership with Italy, is hoping to host the 26th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference, which will be held for two weeks at the end of 2020.
If the bid is successful, COP26 will be at Glasgow’s Scottish Events Campus (SEC), which would be the largest summit ever held in the UK. Glasgow would host 30,000 international delegates including climate experts, business leaders and regular civilians, with as many as 200 world leaders expected to attend in the final weekend.
COP26 takes place five years after the Paris climate agreement and will be the first test of the global community’s commitment to advance efforts in reducing emissions to help solve climate change for the future. By hosting in Glasgow there is hope that the conference will provide a major boost to Scottish business and investment.
The Prime Minister has nominated Claire Perry MP, a former Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, to be the UK’s nomination for COP26 President. Perry told The Scotsman that Glasgow is one of the UK’s most sustainable cities with a record for hosting high-profile events, making it the right choice to showcase the UK’s commitment to the environment.
“In 2020, world leaders will come together to discuss how to protect our planet and set the direction for the years to come,” Perry said. “Where better to do so than Glasgow at the state-of-the-art Scottish Events Campus.”
Perry said that the UK is a world-leader in emissions reduction, having cut emissions by over 40% since 1990 and faster than any other G20 country since 2000. Recently the UK has committed to go further by legislating to reduce net emissions to zero by 2050.
The conference is also expected to host many programmes for young people and make good use of the many world class exhibition halls and facilities at the SEC, which could also include the SEC Armadillo and the SSE Hydro.
The UK government states that it will work with Glasgow and Scotland to ensure the bid is a success, and that it will be a “culmination of a year of climate action.” Additional events are also expected to be held in cities and regions across the UK in support of the conference.
