Queen ‘will be back to host world leaders at climate summit'

THE Queen intends to host world leaders at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow despite cancelling a scheduled visit to Northern Ireland on medical advice.

- Robert Jobson and David Bond

News of the Queen’s intention to press ahead with plans to attend the summit — which starts on Sunday, October 31 — will come as a boost to the Government, with China’s President Xi Jinping expected to snub the event and Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin confirming yesterday that he would not be coming to Scotland.

In a further blow to the summit, a huge leak of documents has revealed how some major nations including India, Japan and Australia are trying to dial down commitments on eradicating polluting fossil fuels.

The documents, published by Greenpeace’s Unearthed investigation team and reported by the BBC today, are among of thousands of submissions made by governments and companies for a UN scientific report on climate change. One senior Australian government official rejects the conclusion that closing coal-fired power plants is necessary. And according to one Indian scientist, coal is likely to remain the mainstay of the country’s energy production for decades because of the of providing affordable electricity. India is the second biggest consumer of coal.

However, it emerged today that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will attend Cop26. India is the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the United States, and Mr Modi’s participation was considered critical.