Recommendation 7

The US Climate Summit and COP15 (the biodiversity COP) will be two key moments where the UK will need to take stock of progress and push for increased ambition. As the COP26 President, the UK should play a leading role in both the preparations for the US conference and during the conference itself. We recommend that the UK works closely with the US administration to align the objectives of the US climate summit on 22 April with the objectives of COP26. The United States’ unquestioned importance in the pledging of climate commitments should not replace the UK’s diplomatic role in bringing together other partners. It will be important for the FCDO to find ways to build bridges between both processes as well as pushing for ambitious commitments from the USA and China at COP26.