30 October 2021 | New Scientist | 9Who’s who at the climate talks
AttendeesA variety of key players will be influencing, or attempting to influence,
the COP26 summit in GlasgowPatricia Espinosa: Executive
secretary, UN Climate Change
Before taking the reins five years
ago at the UN agency charged
with coordinating global action
on climate change, she was
the foreign minister of Mexico.
Her job is to work with Sharma
to forge a strong outcome at
COP26. Her style is circumspect
but upbeat. “One thing we cannot
do is give up,” she has said.The Queen, Prince Charles
and Prince William
UK royalty will join discussions
with other world leaders at the
summit. The Queen was recently
heard expressing frustration
about a lack of action on
climate change when she was
accidentally recorded as saying
“it’s really irritating when they
talk, but they don’t do”, while
discussing whether world leaders
will attend COP26.Greta Thunberg:
Climate activist
The Swedish campaigner hasn’t
officially confirmed whether
she will attend the summit, but
whether she is there in person or
tweeting her views remotely, her
presence will be felt. She expects
Glasgow to just be “blah blah
blah” from leaders – words but
no action – and for “things to
continue to remain the same”.David Attenborough:
Naturalist
As COP26’s “people’s advocate”,
Attenborough will address world
leaders at the summit. The
beloved broadcaster doesn’t
just have a gift for rhetoric and
delivery, but is also closely across
the detail on climate change.
He has said COP26 is “our last
opportunity to make the
necessary step change”
to protect the planet.Alok Sharma: COP26 president
The man who must shepherd
an ambitious consensus from
the 197 parties at COP26.
Dubbed “no drama Sharma”, he
is more technocrat than radical
environmentalist. “I’m a normal
person, right, I’m not someone
who’s some great climate
warrior,” he has said. He is
respected and has built relations
with governments globally.John Kerry: US special
presidential envoy for climate
A veteran of the summits that
came before COP26 and US
president Joe Biden’s right-hand
man on climate, Kerry has forged
a strong partnership with
Sharma. He will be a prominent
public voice at the conference and
an important player in private,
urging other countries to reach
a bold agreement.Simon Stiell: Climate minister
of Grenada
Climate change is “here with us
now in Grenada”, according to
Stiell, who represents not just
Grenada, but works with a wider
alliance of countries seeking
a strong outcome at COP26,
known as the High Ambition
Coalition. He has also spoken
for the Alliance of Small Island
States, a group of countries
threatened by rising sea levels. ❚SA
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US/ALAMYXie Zhenhua: China’s chief
climate negotiator
The famously tough climate
negotiator for the world’s biggest
carbon emitter stepped down in
2019, only to be brought out of
retirement by Chinese president
Xi Jinping this year. Xie and Kerry
have a good relationship, which
may help as US-China relations
are strained on trade, human
rights and the origins of the
coronavirus pandemic.XIN
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