Alok Sharma appointed COP26 President

18 Feb 2020 12:25 PM

Alok Sharma was appointed as COP26 President on Thursday 13 February 2020.

The Prime Minister has appointed Alok Sharma as the COP26 President, alongside his new position as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

As former Secretary of State at the Department for International Development, Mr Sharma’s experience in international diplomacy will be key in driving ambitious climate action from countries attending the conference in Glasgow this November.

Yesterday, Mr Sharma began his first full week in the new role with a meeting with UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, where they committed to working closely together towards a successful, globally ambitious summit later this year in Glasgow.

COP26 President Alok Sharma said:

It is a great honour to take on the role of COP26 President. I have started working with my new team ahead of the summit in Glasgow this November, where we aim to speed up the global journey to net zero carbon.

We will be building on efforts to urge all countries to bring forward ambitious plans to curb their emissions ahead of the event itself.

It is vital everyone comes together to deliver the change needed to tackle climate change and protect our planet.

COP26 will be the largest summit the UK has ever hosted, with over 30,000 delegates, including world leaders, experts, campaigners and government officials.