The G20 in Rome finished, it is of course on Glasgow that all eyes are now turning as the COP26 on climate change really begins this Monday afternoon, presented as the most important since the COP21 in Paris, in 2015.
The heads of state are starting to arrive for the opening plenary session which should serve as a springboard for ambitious diplomatic negotiations over the next fortnight, of which 20 Minutes has deciphered the stakes.
Joe Biden expected at the stand around 1 p.m.
This Monday noon, it is thus Joe Biden, the American president, who landed aboard Air Force One in Edinburgh, from Rome. He should address other world leaders, in Glasgow around 1 p.m., just before Emmanuel Macron scheduled for 2:25 p.m.
While waiting for the speech of Donald Trump’s successor, his national security adviser, Jake sullivan, announced the color. The senior US official blasted China’s “baffling” failure to “step up” its action against the climate crisis from a global perspective.
If he believes that this COP26 would mark progress for a major part of the world thanks to a “boost of energy” during the year 2021, “now the question is: will everyone be aligned?” , he continued aboard the presidential plane Air Force One, shortly before landing in Scotland.
“There are countries which are shying away”
“There are countries that are shying away,” he told reporters, “one of them is China, which will not be represented by a leader at COP26 and which we believe has the obligation to intensify its action as we move forward collectively ”.
“We continue to press for this,” he added, describing as “disconcerting” the contrast between the American policy led by Joe Biden against climate change and the position of China considered “passive”. Chinese Xi Jinping is one of the notable absentees at this UN summit on climate change.