Glasgow climate summit postponed until 2021 due to pandemic

By Kate Abnett and Matthew Green

LONDON, Apr 1 (Reuters) – A climate summit due to be held in Glasgow in November was postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak, it was reported on Wednesday, adding to uncertainties in talks to address global warming.

As the world heads for a catastrophic rise in temperature, the two-week summit was supposed to fuel a renewed international commitment to a deal negotiated in Paris in 2015 aimed at stabilizing Earth’s climate.

But amid attempts to stem the coronavirus pandemic, which has paralyzed many sectors of the world economy, organizers decided to delay the summit to give governments more time to prepare.

Finnish Environment Minister Krista Mikkonen said the climate summit and a separate meeting on the preservation of threatened species, due to take place in Kunming, China, in October, will be held next year.

“COP26 in Glasgow will move from November to next year due to the global coronavirus situation,” Mikkonen said in a statement, citing UN climate officials.

Some investors, diplomats and activists welcomed the postponement, saying it could give governments time to achieve a better result than is currently possible in the context of a global pandemic and with financial markets in a state of constant turmoil.

(Report by Kate Abnett and Matthew Green. Edited in Spanish by Javier Leira)