UK and Italy announce joint bid to host COP26

The UK has announced a joint proposal with Italy to host the 26^th Conference of the Parties (COP) climate conference, in a move which puts it as a clear front runner.

The government announced this evening that it had struck a deal that will see the UK host the COP with Italy holding a pre-event and a dedicated youth event.

A final decision is expected in the next week, with the joint proposal seen as a stronger prospect than Turkey’s solo bid.

This evening’s announcement stressed that the UK and Italy had a “proven track-record of working together to champion the need for urgent climate action globally and have both played a key role in shaping ambitious European Union commitments to meet the Paris Agreement”.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “Today through great joint diplomacy we have agreed a bid for a UK COP26 Presidency in partnership with our friends in Italy. Together, through our continued commitment to work across Europe and internationally, we will build a better world for our children.

The Italian Minister for the Environment, Land and Sea Protection, Sergio Costa, said: “This partnership between Italy and the UK sends a strong signal of determined and informed cooperation on climate change, which is a theme that requires a change of paradigm and which will dominate our agenda and that of future generations.”

The two sides said that the partnership would form the cornerstone of a wider strategic partnership on tackling climate change and delivering ambitious climate action.

At COP26 governments are being asked to agree on how to tackle climate change in the next decade and to spell out the action needed to meet the agreed targets set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement which commits countries to limit an increase in global warming to 2 degrees or less from pre-industrial levels.

Last month leaders in the energy and water sectors pledged their public support for the UK’s bid to host COP26.