UK government denies reports it could delay Cop26

Some fear Covid-19 surges could postpone climate summit

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The UK government is denying reports that the UN climate summit due to be held in Glasgow in November could be delayed a second time by a surge in Covid-19 cases in some parts of the world.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently said he wanted the Cop26 summit, originally planned for November 2020, to be held in person this year rather than online.

A decision to delay the conference again would be made together with the UN.

"We are not looking to postpone the summit," a government spokesman said.

"We are working on the basis of Cop26 being held in person this November, while closely monitoring the Covid situation.

"The summit team is working closely with all partners, and exploring what different scenarios might mean for Cop26 and how we plan for that, while putting the health of the participants and the local community first."

The comments came after Sky News reported that the summit could be postponed or radically altered, attributing the news to two unidentified government sources.

"There are too many uncertainties,' one said. "It will depend on what public health rules are brought in between now and then and what happens with vaccinations of delegates."

There had been suggestions that Cop26 would have to be held online because of the difficulties with planning and staging a large event during the pandemic.

Previous summits involved more than 20,000 people.

Last Wednesday, Mr Johnson said Cop26 was one of the single biggest priorities any government could have.

"The question now, really, is just to make sure that we can have a Cop that is physical," he said.

"I really think it would be a wonderful thing if, by November, the UK can lead the world in all sorts of things, but actually have a summit that is a big global summit where everybody turns up. And everybody turns up without fear."

The news came on the same day that the UK co-hosted an online, high-level event dedicated to Cop26 and paving the way to a greener future.