Who's Attending COP26?

News

27 Oct

Written By Commonwealth Human Ecology Council

Last Updated: 31/10/2021 @ 22:00

With COP26 just days away we thought it'd be a good idea to have a look at who is attending. World Leaders, Royals, corporations, NGOs, charities and other important individuals will all be attending but who can we expect to see and when?

What World Leaders are Attending COP26?

Rightly or wrongly, the media's eyes will all be on the outcome of the negotiations between world leaders at COP26. But which world leaders are attending?

There has already been confirmation that Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping will be absent. These are two notable absentees especially considering both Russia's and China's contributions to the ongoing climate crisis.

However, China is sending it's climate envoy Xie Zhenhua.

Furthermore, it's now been confirmed that Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro will not be attending COP26. A big disappointment considering the environmental controversies the country has faced.

On top of this, one third of Pacific Island states will not be in attendance. Covid-19 travel restrictions have made it difficult for the Pacific Island states to attend which is also worrying considering they are worst affected from the impacts of climate change currently.

However, there are other world leaders who will be attending. This, of course, includes the UK's Boris Johnson, who will play a major role due to being head of the host government.

Also attending, is the United States' President Joe Biden. The US are looking to get back to top of climate discussions after withdrawing from such agreements under President Donald Trump.

World leaders confirmed to be attending COP26 include:

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi
United States President Joe Biden
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
France's President Emmanuel Macron
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison
Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Löfven
Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo
Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez
Colombia's President Ivan Duque
Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi
South Korea's President Moon Jae-in
India's Prime Minister Narenda Modi
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari

Is the Queen Attending COP26?

Unfortunately not. The Queen, whose Birthday we celebrated earlier this year, was due to attend COP26. However, she is "regretfully" missing the reception.

The good news is that she will still deliver her address via video link. Furthermore, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will all be in attendance between 1st-5th November.

Other Notable Attendees

COP26 will attract people and personalities from all over. Activists, celebrities and other political persons will be in attendance.

Of these, Greta Thunberg and David Attenbourgh, will be extremely popular to followers of the Conference.

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres is also attending.

Another notable attendee is the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The EU will also be represented by Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the EU Commission. Close eyes will be on the EU's commitments to tackling climate change.

Other notable people from the political world will also be in attendance. Alok Sharma, MP and President of COP26 will be front and centre. John Kerry, former US Secretary of State and currently the first US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, will also be in Glasgow.

What Corporations are Going?

Hundreds of corporations will be attending COP26. Historically, certain corporate involvement has been questioned due to competing interests between securing profits and protecting the environment. Even this years partnership with Reckitt, who are linked to global deforestation, has resulted in calls that COP26 is likely to be a huge "greenwashing platform".

However, some now consider corporations to be more on board with a green future. For example, over 1000 corporations now have 1.5°C-aligned, science-based targets as part of their business models.

So, who will be in attendance?

Well, the following corporations are principal partners and will have a bigger presence at COP26:

Unilever
Reckitt
Sky
Scottish Power
Sainsbury's
SSE
NatWest Group
National Grid
Microsoft
Hitachi
GSK

Principal Partners to COP26 — The Principal Partners of COP26

Other partners of COP26 include:

BCG
Bloomberg
CISCO
Jaguar Land Rover
IKEA
Salesforce
DLA Piper

Despite such large corporate support. Reports suggest corporations are unhappy with the organisation leading up to COP26. Delayed decisions, poor communication and the breakdown of relationships between organisations have all been reported by partners of the conference.

Which NGOs and Charities are Attending COP26?

On top of world leaders, Royals and corporations, NGOs and charities will be attending COP26. The list is phenomenal and far too big to post here. However, we've put together a short highlight list below:

University of Waikato - The International Global Chance Institute
Friends of the Earth International
London Zoo
British Society of Soil Science (BSSS)
Little Bees International
Stop Ecocide Foundation

The full list of NGOs and charities attending COP26 is available here.

Will CHEC be There??

Yes! CHEC is attending COP26. We will be sending a team that includes our Chairman Mark Robinson. Others from the CHEC team who will be attending are:

Jane Samuels
Emily Robinson
Subbu Loganathan
Trevor Peel
Nicholas Watts
David Gomez (Director of the Ramphal Institute)

You can now read a full overview of the CHEC delegate team attending COP26 here.