COP26 sharply criticized as the most exclusionary climate summit ever

GLASGOW, Scotland — Climate campaigners and environmental activists have sharply criticized the organization of the COP26 climate summit, describing U.N.-brokered talks as the most exclusionary they have ever known.

The meeting, which formally opened on Sunday, has been billed as humanity’s last and best chance to prevent the worst of what the climate crisis has in store. The U.K. is presiding over the talks in Glasgow, Scotland through to Nov. 12.

Logistical difficulties, the exclusion of people with disabilities and a lack of attendees from the Global South are just some of the criticisms leveled at the event organizers.

The COP26 presidency was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC on Friday.

“I’d like to be polite,” Asad Rehman, a spokesperson for the COP26 coalition, told CNBC Tuesday when asked about his experience of COP26 so far. “But it will go down as the worst planned, worst organized and least effective COP that I have ever known. It is just unbelievable.”

Rehman, who said he had been attending U.N. climate talks for over a decade, estimated that only one-third of the usual number of participants representing the Global South had been able to attend COP26 due to Covid-19 restrictions, a lack of affordable accommodation and an inability to access the conference.

This “seriously undermines” the credibility of the meeting, he said, before adding that some civil society groups in attendance had also been “locked out” of negotiations. The COP26 coalition is a U.K.-based group that represents indigenous communities, frontline activists and grassroots campaigns from the Global South.

The start of the week saw chaotic scenes outside the venue, with attendees stuck in long lines trying to gain access to the complex at the SEC in Glasgow.

COP26 President Alok Sharma told reporters earlier in the week that he “regrets” delegates have had to endure lengthy lines to enter the venue.

“This is a unique COP in quite extraordinary times,” Sharma said on Wednesday. “Of course, we regret any logistical issues that people feel are stopping them coming in in a timely manner. I hope that will settle over the next few days.”