UK government appoints Alok Sharma as Cop26 president

(Climate Home News, 13 Feb 2020) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed Alok Sharma to preside over the UN climate talks in November, known as Cop26, filling a leadership void.

Sharma, the former secretary of state for international development, has also been elevated to the role of secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy on Thursday.

A government official at Number 10, the Prime Minister’s office, told Climate Home News Sharma would be the minister in charge of Cop26 and serve as the meeting’s president.

He will replace ousted Cop26 president Claire O’Neill, who was appointed in July but was abruptly sacked at the end of January. The position had been vacant for nearly two weeks, with both the UK’s former prime minister David Cameron and the former foreign secretary William Hague declining the job.

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Climate Home News, 13 Feb 2020: UK government appoints Alok Sharma as Cop26 president