COP26 President-Designate to visit Bangladesh next week
UK MP and COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma will visit Bangladesh as part of his tour to Asia next week to strengthen support for UK COP26 climate priorities ahead of the summit in Glasgow this November.
Apart from Bangladesh, he will also visit Vietnam and Indonesia, according to a statement of the UK Cabinet Office issued on Saturday.
"Meetings with senior leaders will focus on climate ambition, including a clean energy transition and efforts to help communities deal with the worst effects of climate change," it said.
Alok Sharma's visit follows commitments from G7 nations to end all new finance for coal power by the end of 2021 and to increase support for countries vulnerable to climate change.
With less than six months to go before COP26, he will meet with leaders from government, business, and civil society to press his priority for a move to global clean power critical to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C.
It builds on the recent Climate and Environment Ministerial meeting where, under the UK's leadership, G7 nations agreed to end all new direct government support for international coal power and to increase support for clean energy alternatives like solar and wind.
G7 nations also agreed to work to increase the quantity of finance for climate action to meet the $100bn per annum target to support developing countries.
Sharma will discuss the needs of countries most vulnerable to climate change, to ensure they are equipped to deal with its current and damaging effects ahead of COP26.
Preventing deforestation whilst ensuring development and trade is sustainable will also be high on the agenda, as COP26 looks to highlight the protection of nature and biodiversity as a key tool in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C.
In the statement, Sharma said, the G7 made history with a major step forward towards consigning coal to history and moving to a decarbonised power system. But tackling the climate crisis must be a global effort, which leaves no one behind.
"COP26 is our best chance of safeguarding our planet for our children, building a brighter future with greener jobs and cleaner air, and keeping the 1.5C target alive.
"I look forward to discussing these shared priorities with friends across Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, who will be crucial partners on the road to COP26."
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