Biden invited to COP26 climate conference in the UK by Boris Johnson

A statement from Downing Street said that the leaders ‘share priorities’ when it comes to ‘tackling climate change, promoting democracy, and building back better from the coronavirus pandemic’

President-elect Joe Biden has been invited to COP26 - officially the United Nations Climate Change Conference - in Glasgow next November by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The British leader extended the invitation to Mr Biden during a call on Tuesday to congratulate him, and vice president-elect Kamala Harris, on their victory in the US election after it was declared on Saturday. 

A statement, released by 10 Downing Street, said that the leaders’ “share priorities” when it comes to “tackling climate change, promoting democracy, and building back better from the coronavirus pandemic”.

The summit had been scheduled for this November but was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

COP26’s goal is to ensure the world meets the Paris Climate Agreement of curbing global temperature rise to the increasingly ambitious 1.5C, or well below 2C. 

The US officially exited the 2015 Paris deal on 4 November, the day after the presidential election.

In 2019, the Trump administration had formally notified the UN that the US would withdraw after the required one-year waiting period. (The agreement had built in a requirement that no country could pull out in the first three years. Mr Trump did so on the first day possible.)

Mr Biden has promised to immediately rejoin the Paris Agreement when he takes office in January.