COP26: Six months until world leaders descend on Glasgow
President of COP26, Alok Sharma is speaking to Clyde 1 News.
Last updated 7th Jul 2021
In six months time the eyes of the world will be on Glasgow, as leaders from across the globe meet to discuss the climate change crisis.
The UN's 26th annual Conference of the Parties will be held in the city for two weeks from November 1st, after being cancelled last year due to the pandemic.
There has been speculation about whether it will be able to go ahead in person this year and to mark the countdown milestone, the president of COP26, Alok Sharma is speaking to Clyde 1 News.
Mr Sharma says they're doing everything they can to make sure it can go ahead as planned this year.
He said: "I want to be absolutely clear, we are looking for a physical conference. That's what we are looking for in Glasgow. It was already delayed by one year and we're working very hard to make sure that this is a conference that is safe for all the people who come, but also very importantly safe for all the people of Glasgow as well.
"The UK is obviously going to be presiding over this event and it's our job to build a consensus and I think that Glasgow is a great city. It is one of our great cities in the United Kingdom and I am very proud of the fact that we are working with colleagues in Glasgow City Council and others to make sure that this is a success.
"There is no doubt that the fact that this is being held in Glasgow is going to put Glasgow even more on the map globally and I am quite sure that people are going to talk about Glasgow in the same way they talk about all the other great cities where COPs have been held.
"What I want at the end of this is for people to be able to say that Glasgow was a success and a big part of that is ensuring that we deliver of the commitment that counties made to have plans in place so that we keep global warming levels below 2 degrees, closer to 1.5 degrees."
Work will be starting to transform the Broomielaw in the coming months. That's the route world leaders are likely to use to get from their accommodation to the conference headquarters at Glasgow's Science Centre.
It's part of a wider clean up of the city centre ahead of the conference.
Council leader Susan Aitken said: "Obviously the planning around how we can ensure it is a healthy and safe COP is still ongoing, we're working on that with our colleagues in the UK Government and the Scottish Government and at the UN.
"The chief medical officers in both Scotland and England are working together to make sure there is a plan and a protocol in place so that delegates can come to Glasgow safely and that Glaswegians will be safe as well with all these people coming to the city in November.
"Very soon there is going to be a climate clock projection on the Tron steeple. And very soon work is going to start on the Broomielaw. So, there's all sorts of plans in place that we will be telling people about over the next couple of months.
"I know that Glaswegians think we are the centre of the universe all the time, but at the moment we really are."