By PTI
LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II’s irritation with a lot of talk and no action to combat climate change ahead of the COP26 UN climate summit, to be hosted by the UK in Glasgow next month, was overheard after a private chat was accidentally caught by a livestream microphone.
The 95-year-old monarch, who is to attend a reception for world leaders at the COP26 summit, was in Wales for the opening of the region’s devolved Parliament the Senedd at Welsh the capital Cardiff on Thursday.
During the event, she was filmed having a private conversation with the Duchess of Cornwall wife of her son and heir Prince Charles and Elin Jones, the Senedd’s presiding officer.
“I’ve been hearing all about COP. Still don’t know who is coming. no idea,” the Queen was quoted as saying in The Daily Telegraph’ during the private chat.
“We only know about people who are not coming and it’s really irritating when they talk, but they don’t do,” she reportedly said.
US President Joe Biden is among the few confirmed world leaders expected to attend the summit, along with all the G7 member countries.
On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took time out of his holiday in Spain for a phone call with Modi, with a key focus being on India’s climate action targets in the lead up to the COP26 summit in Glasgow.
“The Prime Minister [Johnson] underlined the importance of making concrete progress on climate change ahead of and at the upcoming COP26 Summit.
He noted that India already leads the world in renewable technology and expressed his hope that they will commit to a more ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution and to achieving Net Zero emissions,” Downing Street said in a readout of the call.
The UK is keen to have world leaders on board with its agenda for the summit.
However according to reports, Chinese President Xi Jinping does not intend to attend the summit, with Downing Street maintaining that it is up to individual countries to confirm attendances at COP26.
Prince Charles and his oldest son, Prince William, are expected to address the summit as well as hold talks with key world leaders, with experts suggesting that the attendance of senior royals will boost the image of Britain taking climate talks seriously.
On Thursday, Prince William also told the BBC that his 8-year-old son Prince George had been litter picking at school but was “confused” and “annoyed” that the rubbish kept reappearing.
“So George at school recently has been doing litter picking, and I didn’t realise but talking to him the other day he was already showing that he was getting a bit confused and a bit sort of annoyed by the fact they went out litter picking one day and then the very next day they did the same route, same time and pretty much all the same litter they picked up back again,” said William, the Duke of Cambridge.
“And I think that, for him, he was trying to understand how and where it all came from,” he said, referencing the rise of climate anxiety in young people.
