Alok Sharma, who was last week elevated to the cabinet role of Business secretary in the Boris Johnson government, has been appointed president of the COP26 conference in Glasgow, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others.
Agra-born Sharma, 52, is among four Indian-origin ministers at Johnson’s cabinet table; others being chancellor Rishi Sunak, home secretary Priti Patel and attorney-general Suella Braverman (nee Fernandes).
Official sources said on Tuesday that as the former International Development secretary, Sharma’s experience in diplomacy will be key in driving ambitious climate action from countries attending the 26th United Nations Climate Conference in November.
Sharma began his new role on Monday with a meeting with UN deputy secretary general Amina Mohammed, where they committed to working closely together towards a successful, globally ambitious summit in Glasgow.
Sharma said: “It is a great honour to take on the role of COP26 President. I have started working with my new team ahead of the summit in Glasgow this November, where we aim to speed up the global journey to net zero carbon”.
“We will be building on efforts to urge all countries to bring forward ambitious plans to curb their emissions ahead of the event itself. It is vital everyone comes together to deliver the change needed to tackle climate change and protect our planet”.
{{/usCountry}}“We will be building on efforts to urge all countries to bring forward ambitious plans to curb their emissions ahead of the event itself. It is vital everyone comes together to deliver the change needed to tackle climate change and protect our planet”.
{{/usCountry}}COP26 is expected to be the largest summit the UK has ever hosted, with over 30,000 delegates, including world leaders, experts, campaigners and government officials.