University news

The city of Glasgow has been successful in its bid to host the United Nations Climate Change Summit in 2020. The 26th Conference of the Parties, known as COP26, will see around 30,000 delegates from all over the world attend the event which is designed to produce an international response to climate emergency. The sessions will be held at the SEC.

The announcement was welcomed by the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham who pledged to working collaboratively with partners to deliver and ‘ambitious and effective conference that ensures Scotland plays a leading role to help promote the increased global effort to tackle climate change.’

Earlier this year Glasgow became the first University in Scotland to declare a climate emergency – a move followed by other institutions across the UK. In

In welcoming the news the Principal, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli said that he hoped the University would also be able to play its part in COP26. ‘Confirmation that COP26 is coming to Glasgow means that in 2020, the city will be at the centre of a global debate about climate change and the environment. This is not only a tremendous boost for Glasgow, it also provides a fantastic showcase for the ground-breaking research that we and other Scottish universities undertake. This is a perfect opportunity to stimulate a nationwide debate with government, industry and other stakeholders about the key challenges we face in addressing climate change. The research power of our world-leading universities can help us find lasting solutions to those problems for the benefit of all our futures.’

First published: 11 September 2019