Ahead of this weekend’s COP26 summit in Glasgow, the government has announced the Isle of Man delegation who will be in attendance.

COP26 is the United Nation’s landmark climate conference, which will provide a platform for the biggest climate crisis talks in years.

For this conference, which starts on Sunday, 200 countries will be asked for their plans to cut emissions by 2030.

They all agreed in 2015 to make changes to keep global warming ’well below’ 2C above pre-industrial levels - and to try aim for 1.5C - so the world can avoid a climate catastrophe.

Newly appointed Chair of the Climate Change Transformation Board, Daphne Caine MHK will be making the journey to represent the island on the global stage.

She said: ’I’m delighted to be attending such an important event. This is a great opportunity to see what other jurisdictions are doing, learn from each other, and help us move quickly to take the action needed to mitigate climate change.’

The summit is being held just months after a major scientific report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said human activity is ’changing the climate in unprecedented and sometimes irreversible ways’.

The landmark study warned of increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts and flooding, and a key temperature limit being broken in just over a decade - but scientists say a catastrophe can be avoided if the world acts fast.

The Isle of Man Government has committed to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 - a goal also pledged by the UK, the US and many other developed nations.

Net zero is the point at which a country is removing as many climate-changing gases from the atmosphere as it is putting in.

To reach this target governments will need to invest in renewable energy, increase natural carbon habitats, improve home energy efficiencies and speed up the switch to electric vehicles.

As part of the island’s 2050 commitment a Climate Change Bill, which is currently pending royal assent, was delivered, which requires a continuous five-year rolling action plan.

Chief Minister, Alfred Cannan MHK, said: ’It is fitting that the island has been invited to attend COP26, as we have a strong commitment to climate change action.

’It will be a key feature in our new Island Plan, which will outline the roadmap for government for this administration.’

Whilst the summit is taking place in Glasgow, Net Zero Isle of Man will be running a programme of activities to highlight the significance of the conference, and local climate change action.

This programme of events includes a five-part webinar series running from November 1 - 10, with key speakers on the frontline of climate action, including NASA astronaut Nicole Stott (wife of ManSat’s Chris Stott) and Special Advisor to the Climate Change Transformation Board, Professor James Curran, who is a prominent climate change scientist.

More information on all the events at netzero.im/cop26