Xi Jinping speaks at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21). He is not expected to attend this month's COP26 conference in person. Credit: UN Climate Change
The most important international meeting on climate change for six years is set to take place in Glasgow in less than two weeks, yet there are still many unknowns about China’s approach. Nobody is even sure whether its leader, Xi Jinping, will show up.
Xi hasn’t left China for nearly two years, largely thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the latest reports from the U.K. suggest he won't attend the meeting. But while his absence from the COP26 meeting that’s expected to draw over 100 global leaders — including U.S. President Joe Biden — would be notable, attendees will still be keen to hear about the intentions of China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
Alok Sharma, the British politician who is serving as the President of COP26, has already told Sky News that “the ball is very much in [China’s] court” when it comes to making the meeting a success.
COP26 is a two-week United Nations summit at which nearly 200 countries will gather to disc
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