Extra UN climate talks mooted for 2021 to help negotiators catch up

(Climate Home News, 26 Aug 2020) Additional climate talks could be held in 2021 to help countries prepare for the critical Cop26 summit, making up for time lost due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cop26 in Glasgow, UK, was postponed by a whole year to November 2021 because of the risk of a Covid-19 outbreak. A preparatory meeting in Bonn, Germany was also deferred.

Members of the UN Climate Change bureau – a group of top diplomats which includes UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa – met on Tuesday to decide the path forward for international climate negotiations.

One option under consideration is to hold a third climate meeting in 2021. This would allow negotiators to catch up on work missed this year and arrive in Glasgow ready to negotiate the last unresolved issues of the Paris Agreement rulebook.

Alongside the technical negotiations, leaders are expected to arrive at Cop26 with strengthened national climate plans. Few major emitters are ready to deliver, with preparations running late even before the pandemic hit.

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Climate Home News, 26 Aug 2020: Extra UN climate talks mooted for 2021 to help negotiators catch up