Note No: 038/2019

The Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the
United Nations presents its compliments to the Permanent Missions to the United Nations
and has the honour to inform them that the United Kingdom has presented its candidature to
host COP26/CMP 16/CMA 3 on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) in 2020.

The United Kingdom has presented its candidacy to host COP26, as a committed, ambitious
and effective climate champion. The UK would appreciate the support of Member States in
considering this representation. The UK acknowledges other Parties’ interest in hosting
COP26, but believe that the UK is uniquely placed to create the conditions necessary for a
historic COP26.

Committed – The UK has a strong track record of leadership on climate change. 2018
marked 10 years since the UK passed the Climate Change Act – containing the world’s first
legally binding carbon emission reduction targets. The UK also commissioned seminal
analyses, including the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change in 2006. The UK
convened the first UN Security Council debate on the relationship between climate change
and security in 2007, and played a prominent role in helping to secure the Paris Agreement
in 2015, and a robust rulebook to support its implementation in 2018.

The UK is committed to ambitious action in response to climate change. Between 1990 and
2017 the UK cut its emissions by 42% whilst growing our economy by 72% – reducing the
carbon intensity of GDP at the fastest rate of all G20 countries since 2000. The UK
established the world’s first Green Investment Bank, and launched an Industrial Strategy and
a Clean Growth Strategy to ensure a comprehensive shift to a clean, green economy. The
UK’s innovative international climate finance has helped 47 million people cope with the
impacts of climate change and reduced or avoided 10.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas
emissions to date. The UK is delivering this while committing, through its own 25 Year
Environment Plan, to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

Ambitious – The IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C and the Talanoa
Dialogue made it clear that global ambition is insufficient to meet the goals of the Paris
Agreement, with far-reaching and devastating consequences for all countries. The UK
believes that climate mitigation and adaptation go hand in hand with economic growth.
Success will require unprecedented economic and social shifts across the world.

If the UK is given the honour of the Presidency its priority will be an ambitious approach to
drive this shift, while building on the UK’s role as resilience champion for the UN Secretary
General’s Climate Summit to drive progress on adaptation. A UK Presidency will showcase
the thought-leadership and action of the businesses, civil society and research communities
that are at the forefront of a successful low-carbon transition, driving emissions reduction,
adaptation and economic growth. It will bring together investors, insurers, companies, and
wider stakeholders to drive finance flows towards low-carbon and climate-resilient
development. This work will build on the recent outcomes of COP24, expertly led by Poland,
and will work closely with the incoming Chilean Presidency to ensure that we achieve shared
objectives. Working together with the UNFCCC secretariat, the UK will ensure that the
negotiations process facilitates the ambitious climate action and the multilateral
implementation required to deliver the promise of the Paris Agreement.
The UK will use its political, technical, diplomatic and commercial resources to reach out to
all partners at all levels of government, civil society and business to begin building a global
consensus around a collective vision and commitment to ensure a successful COP26.

Effective – The UK has an exceptional track record of hosting large international events. In
hosting COP26 the UK will build on its experience as hosts of the G20 Summit in 2009, the
G8 in 2013 and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2018, as
well as its 2012 Olympic Games experience. This will enable company, community, city,
regional, national and international stakeholders to showcase the breadth and depth of
climate action.

These events have taught the UK the paramount importance of accessibility, sustainability
and security for all participants. Getting to the UK couldn’t be easier, with 12 international
airports, all supported by robust road and rail networks. All these events required major
security operations, combining a safe and secure environment for leaders and delegations,
with an open and celebratory spirit for the thousands of other participants. The UK would
look to build on its track record of sustainable events with even more challenging goals for
COP26.

The UK recognises the role of the COP Presidency extends beyond hosting an impactful
conference. The UK has a reputation for effective diplomacy. As a member of the G7, G20
and NATO, with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and strong links to the
Commonwealth of Nations, the UK is well-networked, with a history of constructive
engagement in support of the rules based international system. The UK has played a leading
role in driving change on complex issues ranging from modern slavery to trade, and was the
first country to establish a global network of diplomats focused on increasing international
engagement on climate change. The UK will combine this experience with the full suite of
UK skill to deliver a successful COP26.

The Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the
United Nations avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Permanent Missions to the
United Nations the assurances of its highest consideration.

United Kingdom Mission

to the United Nations
15 February 2019