<p>LONDON — The U.K. official leading preparations for the COP26 climate conference reiterated Thursday the intention to hold the delayed summit in person despite the continuing problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>Alok Sharma, the U.K.’s president-designate of COP26, said “every possible” measure was being explored, including around COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, to ensure the talks could be held safely.</p>
<p>In less than six months’ time delegates from across the world are due to arrive in Glasgow for the United Nations’ annual conference.</p>
<p>The summit was originally set for November 2020, but the pandemic forced it to be postponed for a year. A year on, there are still issues, and limits on international travel remain in place.</p>
<p>“For me it is vital that developing countries are able to sit at the same table, face-to-face with the larger countries, the big emitters,” Sharma said. “The desire for (an in-person summit) is what I’ve been hearing loud and clear from governments and communities around the world.”</p>
<p>Sharma said the world had not done “nearly enough” to act on the commitments of the Paris climate accord, which was first agreed at COP21 in 2016.</p>
<p>The treaty seeks to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times.</p>
<p>The president-designate said COP26 was the “last hope” to keep that commitment.</p>
<p>“We have come to the moment of truth,” Sharma said. “This is our last hope of keeping 1.5 degrees alive, our best chance of building a brighter future. future of green jobs and cleaner air.</p>
<p>“I have faith that world leaders will rise to the occasion, and not be found wanting in their tryst with destiny.”</p>
<p>Climate activists around the world have remained skeptical about governments’ efforts to live up to the Paris agreement, reflected in continued protests and campaigns.</p>
<p>April saw some of the world’s largest emitters set out their latest goals for reductions in their carbon output.</p>
<p>Sharma also said he hoped the conference would be the moment coal power is left “in the past where it belongs.”</p>
<p>“The science is clear that to keep 1.5 degrees alive, coal must go,” Sharma said, calling for Group of 7 countries to lead the way and support developing nations in transitions to cleaner energy.</p>
<p>Having previously refused to step in, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in March intervened in plans to build a new coal mine in Cumbria, northwest England.</p>
<p>Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick ordered a public inquiry which is due to be held in September, less than two months before COP26, which will run Nov. 1-12.</p>
