By Susanna Twidale
LONDON (Reuters) – A coalition of more that 1,500 environmental groups called on Tuesday for major international climate talks due to begin next month to be delayed, saying access to them would be unequal.
The talks are aiming to spur more ambitious commitments by countries to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and keep the global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius during this century, in line with a 2015 Paris accord.
Typically delegates from more than 190 countries attend the annual talks, yet with many countries grappling with COVID-19 and poorer nations struggling to access vaccines, they should be postponed, the Climate Action Network (CAN) said.
The COP26 conference, which was put back from last year due to the COVID crisis, is scheduled to take place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Our concern is that those countries most deeply affected by the climate crisis and those countries suffering from the lack of support by rich nations in providing vaccines will be left out of the talks,” CAN Executive Director Tasneem Essop said.
COP26 host Britain said in June it would offer vaccines to delegates who need them and has since said vaccinations under this programme would start this week.
However, CAN said in a statement that Britain has been slow in delivering vaccines and many countries are likely to miss out as a result.
The issue is made worse, it said, by the need for unvaccinated delegates to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days if they arriving from what Britain has identified as so-called red list countries.
Britain’s COP26 president Alok Sharma said Britian would pay the quarantine costs and it was vital talks go ahead as planned.
“Ensuring that the voices of those most affected by climate change are heard is a priority… if we are to deliver for our planet, we need all countries and civil society to bring their ideas and ambition to Glasgow,” Sharma said in a statement.
(Reporting by Susanna Twidale)
