UK offers Covid vaccine to Glasgow climate summit delegates
The UK will offer the coronavirus vaccine to thousands of delegates from nearly 200 countries ahead of the UN climate summit in Glasgow in November.
The UK and UN has launched registration for the COP26 climate summit earlier than previous years, to allow time for vaccines to reach delegates who would not otherwise have access to the jabs.
Under normal circumstances the UN climate summit would draw more than 20,000 attendees from governments, charities and media. The COP26 meeting has already been delayed by one year due to the pandemic and the risk remains that it could be delayed again due to waves of infection.
Prominent climate action campaigners including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg have said they are concerned the uneven rollout of coronavirus vaccines around the world could undermine negotiations on climate change at the UN summit.
Thunberg told the BBC she did not plan to attend the COP26 meeting unless delegates from all countries could take part on the same terms, and also donated €100,000 from her personal foundation to support the World Health Organization’s Covax initiative.
The UN will be responsible for the logistics of administering the jabs to registered delegates, observers and journalists in their home countries before the event, while the UK government will provide the vaccine doses. The type of vaccine that will be offered is still under discussion.
UK organisers say they will do everything possible to hold the meeting in person, including introducing measures such as testing, social distancing, and the vaccine drive.
Holding the summit entirely virtually has been dismissed as impractical, although a “hybrid” model that is partly in person and partly virtual could be considered if the pandemic worsens. A decision on the exact format of COP26 will be announced in coming weeks.
“Success at Glasgow requires representatives from every part of the world physically sitting around the same table,” said Alok Sharma, COP president.
“Whether the global north, or the global south, we all share one planet and are facing the challenge of climate change together,” Sharma said, adding that he hoped all delegates who needed a vaccine would get one.
Vaccination will not be mandatory for attendance at COP26, but is “strongly recommended” by the organisers.
In Japan, the organisers of the Tokyo Olympics have made a similar effort to provide jabs to athletes ahead of the Olympic Games, but stopped short of requiring athletes to be vaccinated to participate.
Patricia Espinosa, head of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said: “We will collaborate closely with the UK government to ensure the vaccination offer is implemented in an inclusive, transparent and fair manner.”
Key issues that will be decided at the COP26 summit include rules for global carbon markets and for how countries report their emissions under the Paris climate accord.
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