Sturgeon praises UN climate chief for emphasising ‘stark reality’ facing summit
Nicola Sturgeon has praised UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa for setting out the "stark reality" of climate change for world leaders as the COP26 global climate conference began.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) executive secretary told the formal opening of the UN climate summit in Glasgow yesterday: "We stand at a pivotal point in history.
"We either choose to achieve rapid and large-scale reductions of emissions to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C – or we accept that humanity faces a bleak future on this planet."
The First Minister tweeted her remarks, saying she "couldn't agree more".
Ms Sturgeon said that Ms Espinosa was "setting out the stark reality for world leaders gathering in Glasgow for #COP26 – act now with the urgency and ambition required to limit global warming to 1.5C, or accept a bleak future for life on our planet".
The international climate change conference began formally yesterday, with around
120 heads of state expected to attend the summit of world leaders.
The First Minister met Malawian president Lazarus Chakwera and his foreign minister Eisenhower Mkaka at her formal residence, Bute House, in Edinburgh yesterday.
She said it was a "pleasure" meet them, posting on Twitter they discussed "our friendship and shared priorities ahead of COP26".
Ms Sturgeon said Malawi has one of the closest and longeststanding bilateral relationships with Scotland.
The First Minister said: "Scotland may not be at the top table of these negotiations, but I and the Scottish Government will be doing absolutely everything we can to help make this conference a success."