Ollie Rudden
Deputy News Editor
Glasgow has officially been confirmed as the host city for the major UN climate conference COP26.
The conference is to take place at Glasgow’s Scottish Events Campus (SEC) in the autumn of 2020, with as many as 30,000 delegates expected to attend in the hope of creating a new international agreement to combat the climate emergency.
The UK will act as the main host of the COP26 summit with Glasgow as the centre while additional events will be planned throughout the UK. Italy will also host events in the lead up to the summit, including a big youth event in honour of the partnership.
Many have described this as the most important conference on climate since the Paris Agreement in 2015, which was signed by 194 states in an effort to clamp down on carbon emissions and increasing global warming.
The conference will last for two weeks in the autumn of 2020 and is expected to see as many as 200 world leaders arrive in Glasgow to attend the event in its final weekend. It is set to be the biggest conference to ever take place in Glasgow, and the UK as a whole.
The year 2020 is also when states that signed the Paris agreement are due to review their commitments to reducing carbon emissions.
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal of the University of Glasgow said, “Confirmation that COP26 is coming to Glasgow means that in 2020, the city will be at the centre of a global debate about climate change and the environment.”
“This is not only a tremendous boost for Glasgow, it also provides a fantastic showcase for the ground-breaking research that we and other Scottish universities undertake. This is a perfect opportunity to stimulate a nationwide debate with government, industry and other stakeholders about the key challenges we face in addressing climate change. The research power of our world-leading universities can help us find lasting solutions to those problems for the benefit of all our futures.”
Councillor Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said it is a tremendous honour for the city to host an event of such global significance. “Our ambition is to be at the forefront of climate action and we hope the efforts in our city can encourage the attending world leaders to deliver for our planet,” Aitken said.
