LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is planning to hold the COP26 global climate summit in person, not online, British Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in an interview for the Reuters Events: Global Energy Transition conference.
The climate conference, due to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, was originally planned to take place last year but was postponed to November due to the coronavirus crisis.
“We’re absolutely committed to making it happen in person,” Trevelyan said of the summit which follows up on the 2015 Paris climate deal that aims to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
“We’ve seen over the last year that it’s been really difficult, particularly for developing countries, working on a virtual basis through negotiations so we’re absolutely determined to make sure that everyone can be in the same room.”
The conference will bring together heads of governments from across the globe to debate detailed policies on how to achieve the transition to a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.
Trevelyan said phasing out international financing by governments for fossil fuel projects would help “shift the dial and help countries to move to that next generation of green growth.”
Britain decided this year to end governmental financial support for fossil fuel projects abroad. It still allows new oil and gas licences in the British North Sea provided operators work on reducing upstream emissions.
For more on the Reuters Events: Global Energy Transition conference please click here[https://reutersevents.com/events/energy-transition-global/]
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Edmund Blair)
