CAFOD: COP26 postponed, but climate targets must be met

The COP26 UN climate change conference due to take place in Glasgow in November has been postponed because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Dates for a rescheduled conference in 2021, hosted in Glasgow by the UK in partnership with Italy, will be set out in due course following further discussion with parties.

Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy at Catholic aid agency CAFOD, said: "We have to do all we can to minimise the spread of the coronavirus and protect the most vulnerable people in the UK and worldwide.

"That inevitably means that preparations for the COP will be thrown off-course for the time being, but postponing the COP doesn't mean the steps to tackle the climate crisis can be delayed. The Paris Agreement requires countries to submit new climate targets in 2020 - whether the COP is held or not - so governments still can and must put their plans in place to cut emissions.

"We need to use the additional time to ensure the COP is a forum for making decisions which will rebuild our economies in a way that protects the world's poorest people. Governments have pledged extraordinary amounts of money to prevent economic disasters from this pandemic, but that money must not be used to finance future environmental destruction."