UK envoy to UN says feeling 'optimistic' ahead of Glasgow climate summit

New York [US], October 28 (ANI/Sputnik): UK Ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward said ON Thursday that she felt optimistic about the possible outcomes of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), organized by her country in Glasgow, Scotland, as the international community still has a chance to reach the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
"I'm hopeful and optimistic as we go into Glasgow," Woodward said in a press briefing. "We have 140 leaders coming to Glasgow in person... And we do have an opportunity to keep 1.5 alive in Glasgow."
Woodward said the upcoming G20 summit in Italy this weekend provides another reason to be optimistic about the results of the climate conference. According to the diplomat, the gathering in Rome gives an opportunity to push G20 leaders - the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters - to get more commitments to net-zero emissions.
"We are, as we know, at the point of no return. So emitters cannot put their heads in the sand any longer," Woodward said, referring to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released in August that concluded Earth's climate warming was slipping past the point of no return.
The COP26 summit will be held from October 31 to November 12, aiming to bring countries together and accelerate action to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement. (ANI/Sputnik)