UK to relax Covid travel rules for Cop26 climate delegates
The UK will relax Covid-19 travel rules for thousands of delegates attending the UN Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November.
Cop26 officials have set out conditions for the event, which is expected to welcome up to 25,000 government delegates, journalists and campaigners from around the world for talks on curbing global warming.
The summit, which will be attended by global leaders, is being billed as a final chance to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C to avoid the most dangerous climate change.
In a major UN climate report published today, the world’s top scientists said they expected temperatures to rise by 1.5C by 2040 in all scenarios, warning it was now “code red for humanity”.
Restrictions on travel to the UK and rules on quarantine will be relaxed for the Cop26 summit, which was delayed from last year due to the pandemic.
There will also be strict testing protocols in place, including regular testing for those attending the summit.
Cop26 officials said full vaccination for the two week-long summit was strongly encouraged, and the UK had offered vaccines to registered delegates who would not be able to get jabbed by other means.
A government spokesperson said Cop26 was a necessary event, as the science was clear for the need to take immediate and far reaching action to have any chance of avoiding the devastating impacts of rising temperatures.
They added: “We know that achieving the ambitious global action needed to tackle climate change requires everyone sitting around the same table. To achieve this we have been working tirelessly to make arrangements for an in-person event.
“Hosting it safely is of the utmost importance to the UK. Like many recent international events, Cop26 will have to adapt in line with Covid.”