Key international climate talks due to take place in the UK in November have been postponed until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Cop26 meeting was set to take place at Glasgow's Scottish Events Campus - which is being turned into a temporary Covid-19 field hospital - from November 9 to 20.
But an announcement from the UN's climate body, the UNFCCC, and the UK Government said the summit would be pushed back to 2021 in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to postpone was taken by the UNFCCC with the UK and its Italian partners in hosting Cop26, with dates in 2021 set out after further discussion.
Announcing the postponement, Cop26 president-designate and UK Business and Energy Secretary Alok Sharma said they had taken the decision due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
“The world is currently facing an unprecedented global challenge and countries are rightly focusing their efforts on saving lives and fighting Covid-19", he said.
“That is why we have decided to reschedule Cop26.
“We will continue working tirelessly with our partners to deliver the ambition needed to tackle the climate crisis and I look forward to agreeing a new date for the conference.”
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted in response to the Cop26 postponement that it was the right decision
“A disappointing decision, but absolutely the right one as we all focus on the fight against #coronavirus", she said.
“We look forward to welcoming the world to Glasgow in 2021 #COP26.”
Responding to the COP26 postponement, Danny Sriskandarajah, Oxfam GB chief executive said he hoped the momentum behind the climate summit would remain.
“This pause is understandable in light of efforts to stop the pandemic we all now face", he said.
“But this should not mean pausing our vital efforts to respond to a climate crisis that is already threatening lives and pushing millions of people deeper into hunger and poverty.
“The UK, as host of the summit, must keep global momentum going and cannot miss the opportunity to commit to both a just recovery and a just transition to a greener economy.”
