Pressure mounts on UK to delay UN climate talks as delegates complain of vaccine gap

The president of the UN climate change conference insisted Tuesday that the event scheduled for November in Glasgow "must go ahead in person," after a network of 1,500 civil society groups called for the negotiations to be postponed.

The Climate Action Network (CAN), which includes groups from more than 130 countries, argued that the failure to provide vaccines to millions of people in poor countries, as well as the high costs of travel and accommodation, has made it impossible to ensure the COP26 talks will be "safe, inclusive and just." "Our concern is that those countries most deeply affected by the climate crisis and those countries suffering from the lack of support by rich nations in providing vaccines will be left out and be conspicuous by their absence at COP26," said Climate Action Network Executive Director Tasneem Essop in a statement.