Xi will not attend COP26 in person: The Times

Fri, October 15, 2021, 


Xi Jinping
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and paramount leader of China

The COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow may be short of one very important guest when it gets underway on October 31st.

Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Britain's The Times newspaper quoted an unidentified British source as saying the Chinese president won't be there in person.

Quote: "It is now pretty clear that Xi is not going to turn up," and that prime minister is aware. The source is is said to have added, "What we don’t know is what stance the Chinese are going to take."

The Times said British organizers fear that Xi's decision to stay away could foreshadow China refusing to set new climate change goals.

The Chinese embassy in London could not be reached for immediate comment.

Meantime, Queen Elizabeth was overheard saying that she's irritated by world leaders who talk about climate change but then do very little or nothing to address the crisis.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed on Friday that he would attend the summit, after saying earlier that he was unsure whether he would travel to Glasgow because of the COVID-19 situation.

"Overnight I confirmed my attendance at the Glasgow Summit which I'm looking forward to attending. It's an important event. The government will be finalising its position for me to take to that summit prior to my departure over the next fortnight.''

While many countries have pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, Australia, which is one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases per capita, has declined to firm up its target

Chinese President ‘boycotts’ COP26 hinting he won’t comply with climate goals

Harrison Jones
Friday 15 Oct 2021 

Xi Jinping’s move will intensify concerns that COP could flop (Picture: Rex/Getty)

The President of China is set to snub a crucial climate change summit hosted by the UK later this month, reports say.

The move would be a major blow to Boris Johnson’s government and intensify international fears that the COP26 conference in Glasgow will flop.

Xi Jinping’s presence at the event has been in doubt for some time, but now diplomats have told Boris Johnson that the Chinese leader will not attend, according to The Times.

The summit is seen as a critical moment in the battle against the climate crisis and well over 100 world leaders are expected to be there, including USA President Joe Biden.


On Friday morning, it was also confirmed that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a climate change sceptic, would attend, amid calls from Prince Charles for him to do so.

But action from China is widely seen as essential to stopping environmental meltdown and President Xi’s snub will raise fears that government there is not serious about the challenges ahead.

President Xi, who attended the landmark Paris climate conference, had recently announced that China would no longer invest in new overseas coal initiatives – but schemes at home appear to be speeding up.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will attend the summit (Picture: Getty Images)

A Government source told The Times: ‘It is now pretty clear that Xi is not going to turn up and the PM has been told that.

‘What we don’t know is what stance the Chinese are going to take. They could go to the G20 [summit in Rome on October 30-31] with new commitments but that is now looking less likely.

‘The truth is that unless China comes with new commitments we’re not going to be able to keep [the climate target of] 1.5 degrees alive.’

However, another source did highlight Xi’s lack of foreign travel in recent years to the paper, and was more upbeat about what the move might mean.

British organisers fear that the decision to stay away could be signal China’s intention not to set new climate change goals.

All countries are expected to publish targets before the conference – but it is now only two weeks away and just half of the G20 countries have put forward their plans.

China is behind 27% of global carbon emissions.

The Queen was overheard complaining about world leaders in offhand comments at the Welsh opening of Parliament on Thursday, when she said: ‘I’ve been hearing all about Cop… still don’t know who is coming… no idea.

‘We only know about people who are not coming… it is very irritating when they talk, but they don’t do.’

In Australia, Mr Morrison’s plans to attend the summit come despite bitter divisions in his govern

Reducing emissions is a politically fraught issue in Australia, which is one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and liquified natural gas.

The nation is also one of the world’s worst greenhouse gas emitters per capita because of its heavy reliance on coal-fired power.

The PM had put his indecision about going to Glasgow down to his reluctance to spend another two weeks in quarantine when he returns.

Some observers have suggested he did not want to be berated in person over weak Australian targets – but Mr Morrison is now said to be becoming more confident of getting his government to agree to more internationally acceptable goals.

In August, climate scientists warned of a ‘code red for humanity’ in a landmark report highlighting the scale of the environmental emergency.