FORMER US president Barack Obama has arrived in Glasgow ahead of his appearance at the COP26 climate summit.

Obama was president as the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 at the COP21 summit in France.

He arrived at Glasgow Airport last night and will be speaking at the summit later today and is expected to talk about the world's road ahead in the battle against climate change and what young people can do.

Obama will give a speech at 2pm today. He is expected to urge "more robust action going forward by all of us — governments, the private sector, philanthropy, and civil society".

The Herald:

Speaking at the first of many events at the summit, Mr Obama said that island nations are the “canaries in the coalmine” of climate change and are sending a message on the need for urgent action.

He said not enough has been done to combat climate change and called for united action, adding : “In many ways, islands are the canary in the coalmine in this situation.

“They are sending a message now that if we don’t act then it’s going to be too late.”

He added: “All of us have a part to play, all of us have work to do and all of us have sacrifices to make.

“Those of us who live in big, wealthy nations, those of us who helped to precipitate the problem, we have an added burden to make sure that we are working with and helping and assisting those who are less responsible and less able, but are more vulnerable to this oncoming crisis.”

 

 

A veteran of the failed UN climate summit in Copenhagen and the successful meeting in Paris which secured the world’s first comprehensive climate treaty, Mr Obama was speaking at an event by Cop26 organisers the UNFCCC on island resilience.

Calling for more action and for countries to stick to the pledges they have made in Glasgow and previously, he said: “It’s important for us to recognise as was true five years ago we have not done enough.”

The Hawaiian native said he is an “island kid” and ended his speech quoting a Hawaiian saying which he said roughly translates as “unite to move forward”.

He is expected to attend several events on Monday, including a speech laying out the progress made in the five years since the Paris Agreement took effect, highlighting the leadership of young people around the globe and urging more robust action from governments, the private sector, philanthropy and civil society.

The Herald:

 

Last week, Obama wrote on Twitter: "Five years ago, the Paris Agreement went into effect. Paris provided an important framework in the fight against climate change, but it wasn’t enough. That’s why I’ll be speaking in Glasgow on Monday about the road ahead and what young people in particular can do to help."

Current US president and Obama's former vice-president Joe Biden was in Scotland for the first two days of the summit last week alongside other world leaders. 

This is the former US president's first trip to Scotland since 2017.