Campaigners welcome news Glasgow to host COP26

Christian environmental campaigners are welcoming the news that the UK has won the bid to host COP26, (26th Conference of the Parties) which seeks to produce an international response to the climate emergency. Glasgow will host the main COP summit while Italy will host preparatory events and a significant youth event, as part of the agreement.

Up to 30,000 delegates are expected to attend the event at Glasgow's Scottish Events Campus (SEC) at the end of next year.

Responding to the news, Dr Kat Kramer, Christian Aid's Global Climate Lead, said: "It's great that such a historic gathering will be held in the UK. For it to be a success, the UK needs to walk the talk and increase its own near-term targets reducing its emissions rapidly and radically.

"The UK further needs to develop a holistic plan to achieve its own legally-binding goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This should be without using international offsets.

"Internationally, the UK needs to make sure that it is doing its fair share to support developing countries through finance and providing them with sustainable technologies like wind and solar.

"The UK also needs to ensure there are enough diplomats to do the needed outreach to make the UN meeting a success and that the voices from civil society groups from climate vulnerable countries must be heard in the talks."

Tearfund tweeted: "Tearfund has a focus on tackling climate change because of the impact on those in greatest poverty. We welcome confirmation that a major UN climate change summit (known as COP26) will take place in Glasgow next year to work on an international response to the climate emergency."

Before the decision was finalised, SCIAF the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund said hosting the event would be "a chance in a lifetime for the UK to put its own stamp on climate change reforms." ... "It is time for world leaders to live up to the promises they made in the Paris Agreement and commit to ambitious action to prevent a climate breakdown," a spokesperson said.

Dr Daniel Hale, head of campaigns at CAFOD, said: "It's no exaggeration to say that hosting this conference would give the UK the chance to set the tone for how the next century will turn out."