The climate summit will not be held remotely despite the Coronavirus pandemic which is still hitting several countries in the world hard.

"I have always defended the need for a face-to-face COP (…) we are therefore planning a face-to-face summit, where we will ensure that the safety of the delegates will be paramount," COP26 president Alok Sharma announced on Friday.

Initially scheduled for November 2020 and postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 epidemic, this summit is scheduled for November 2021 in Glasgow.

It will bring together leaders from 196 countries, as well as companies and experts.

Tests and vaccines for safety

Even though the health situation has now greatly improved in the United Kingdom - the most affected country in Europe with nearly 128,000 deaths - thanks to an effective vaccination campaign, several countries still fear that their representatives will not be able to attend in person. to discussions.

That is why calls were made to hold the event online.

“Together with our colleagues from the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, public health agencies and the United Nations, we are exploring all possible security measures against Covid, including tests, vaccines and other measures (... ) so that COP26 can take place safely, ”added Alok Sharma.

The summit of the "last hope"

According to the chairman of the event, this climate summit is the “last hope” of keeping the increase in temperatures below 1.5 ° C, a threshold beyond which scientists believe that climate change will get out of hand.

According to the United Nations, emissions should decrease by nearly 8% per year so as not to exceed the overall increase of 1.5 ° C provided for in the Paris agreement, which would be equivalent to saving each year until 2030 the same amount of emissions as during the pandemic.

An objective hailed by Greenpeace

"Alok Sharma is absolutely right" to want "to maintain the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees", commented Kate Blagojevic, climate manager at Greenpeace.

“This goal must be engraved in the minds of all world leaders and underpin all the decisions they make,” she added, “but for it to become a reality, every country must step up its action now, starting with the UK ”.

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