British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) greets U.S. President Joe Biden (R) as leaders arrive to attend the COP26 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday. Photo by Robert Perry/EPA-EFE
Nov. 1 (UPI) — World leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden will speak Monday at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Scotland, known as COP26 — which experts have said may be the last best chance to get the world on track to meet goals set out in the Paris Agreement.
About 130 people are scheduled to attend the conference, which officially began on Sunday but begins in earnest Monday with the Leaders’ Event.
The opening ceremony was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. EDT. Biden was scheduled to speak third, around 9 a.m. EDT.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was scheduled to deliver the welcoming address and Britain’s Prince Charles and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres were also set to speak early.
“It’s one minute to midnight and we need to act now,” Johnson will say in his welcome speech, according to CNN. “We have to move from talk and debate and discussion to concerted, real-world action on coal, cars, cash and trees.
“Not more hopes and targets and aspirations, valuable though they are but clear commitments and concrete timetables for change.”
Biden, who rejoined the Paris Agreement immediately after he took office in January, left Rome for Scotland early Monday after meeting with Pope Francis and attending the G20 Leaders Summit over the weekend.
“President Biden will outline the bold steps his administration is taking … to combat climate change, underscore how bold action delivers economic prosperity and peace and security, and rally countries from every corner of the world to step up their ambition and confront this existential threat during a decisive decade,” the White House said in a statement Monday.
“This is not a challenge for future generations, but one all countries must confront today — with urgent, bold, and direct action.”
After his address, Biden is scheduled to participate in an event at the Scottish Event Campus, hold bilateral talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and attend a reception hosted by Johnson.
Biden said Sunday night that he’s concerned about some of the nations that are not attending the conference, like China and Russia.
“The proof of the pudding will be eating,” Biden said, according to CNN. “We have made significant progress and more has to be done, but it’s going to require us to continue to focus on what China’s not doing, what Russia is not doing, what Saudi Arabia is not doing.”
Other speakers scheduled on Monday include French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is not attending the conference, but has given a written statement that will be read during the event Monday.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II had originally planned to attend the summit, but said last week that she would not go to Scotland on the advice of her physician.
Many scientists and climate experts have said the U.N. conference might be the last best chance for world leaders to get on the same page and establish coordinated efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
A United Nations report last week said the world is “way off” track in reaching key targets set out in the Paris Agreement after a significant rise in carbon dioxide in 2020. A number of other recent reports have also raised alarm for the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.