WIREDGOV

Glasgow has been chosen as the UK city to host a major UN climate change summit next year, if the country’s bid is successful.

The UK is bidding to secure the Presidency and host the COP26 summit over two weeks at the end of 2020 in partnership with Italy.

The UK government say the conference will be hosted at Glasgow’s Scottish Events Campus (SEC), boosting Scottish business and driving investment in the region.

Five years on from the Paris Agreement, the COP26 Climate Change Conference is the first major test of the international community’s commitment to scale-up efforts to reduce emissions over time. It will shine a spotlight on the action taken since 2015 to keep climate change within manageable levels, and drive future action.

Selected for its world-class facilities, the SEC is just outside Glasgow city centre on the banks of the River Clyde. It will host 30,000 delegates from around the world, including climate experts, business leaders and citizens from across the UK.

Claire Perry, former Minister for Energy and Clean Growth and recently named the UK nominated President for COP26 by the Prime Minister, said:

As one of the UK’s most sustainable cities, with a record for hosting high-profile international events, Glasgow is the right choice to showcase the UK’s commitment to the environment.

The UK is a world-leader in emissions reduction, having cut our emissions by over 40 per cent since 1990 - faster than any other G20 country since 2000. And we recently committed to go further, by legislating to reduce our net emissions to zero by 2050.

In 2020, world leaders will come together to discuss how to protect our planet and set the direction for the years to come. Where better to do so than Glasgow, at the state of the art Scottish Events Campus.

Lasting for two weeks at the end of 2020, this will be the largest summit the UK has ever hosted with up to 200 world leaders expected to attend for the final weekend.

The conference will include programmes for young people, and make use of the wide range of conference and exhibition spaces at the Scottish Events Campus.

The UK government will work with the local community to make the event a success for Glasgow, for Scotland and for the whole of the United Kingdom. The Summit will be the culmination of a year of climate action, including events in regions and cities in all four nations of the UK.