‘Impossible’ for in-person COP26 to be safe and inclusive

The COP26 president has insisted the event will go ahead in Glasgow in November despite accusations it will exclude many of the countries set to be most affected by climate change.

The Climate Action Network (CAN), which represents more than 1,500 civil society organisations in over 130 countries, has called for the UN climate conference to be postponed.

The group said that with less than two months to go, it was now evident that “a safe, inclusive and just global climate conference is impossible given the failure to support the access to vaccines to millions of people in poor countries, the rising costs of travel and accommodation, and the uncertainty in the course of the Covid 19 pandemic”.

It expressed concerns that countries on the UK’s red travel list would be unrepresented at the talks.

Alok Sharma, the president-designate of the event, insisted that the UK government has offered vaccines to delegates who would otherwise not yet be eligible and proposed funding quarantine hotel stays.

However, CAN described participation at COP as a “microcosm of the larger patterns of global injustice and exclusion that we see playing out”, pointing out that while 57 per cent of Europe is fully vaccinated, the figure stands at around 3 per cent in Africa.

Tasneem Essop, executive director of CAN, said: “The climate talks are important but against the current context of vaccine apartheid they simply cannot proceed by locking out the voices of those who especially need to be heard at this time.”

CAN said that despite promises to fast-track vaccines for delegates there was no evidence that any had yet been administered. The UK later clarified that first doses would be received “this week”.

Mohamed Adow, a long-time observer of the talks and director of the Nairobi-based thinktank Power Shift Africa, cited examples of delegates in vulnerable customers facing “eye-watering” costs to attend.

He added: “If COP26 goes ahead as currently planned, I fear it is only the rich countries and NGOs from those countries that would be able to attend.

“This flies in the face of the principles of the UN process and opens the door for a rich-nations stitch-up of the talks.  A climate summit without the voices of those most affected by climate change is not fit for purpose.”

In response to the criticisms, Sharma said: “COP26 has already been postponed by one year, and we are all too aware climate change has not taken time off. The recent IPCC report underlines why COP26 must go ahead this November to allow world leaders to come together and set out decisive commitments to tackle climate change.

“We are working tirelessly with all our partners, including the Scottish Government and the UN, to ensure an inclusive, accessible and safe summit in Glasgow with a comprehensive set of Covid mitigation measures. This includes an offer from the UK Government to fund the required quarantine hotel stays for registered delegates arriving from red list areas and to vaccinate accredited delegates who would be unable otherwise to get vaccinated.

“Ensuring that the voices of those most affected by climate change are heard is a priority for the COP26 Presidency, and if we are to deliver for our planet, we need all countries and civil society to bring their ideas and ambition to Glasgow.”