28 June 2021
Dear Madam Speaker,
Dear Mr. Speaker,
We are very pleased to invite your parliament to two parliamentary events in relation to the 26th
United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) that will be held in Glasgow,
United Kingdom (UK) in November 2021. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is co-organizing
a
Pre-COP26 Parliamentary Meeting in Rome, Italy on 8-9 October 2021
with the Italian
Parliament as part of a series of pre-COP26 events hosted by Italy,
followed by the
Parliamentary Meeting at COP26 in Glasgow,
co-organized with the British Group of the IPU
on
7 November 2021.
COP26 is the foremost international conference on climate change. It brings together leaders from
across the globe to advance climate action and to promote implementation of the Paris Agreement,
the world’s major legally-binding international treaty on climate change. The IPU has long
supported the engagement of parliaments in annual COP meetings through the organization of
parliamentary meetings. COP26 provides a critical opportunity to reflect on what has been
achieved since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 and to set concrete plans to reach the
Paris Agreement targets, at a time when the climate crisis is more critical than ever.
The two parliamentary events are being planned as in-person meetings in Rome and Glasgow and
will bring together parliaments from around the world and provide a platform for discussing how to
advance parliamentary action on climate change at the national, regional and international level, in
the context of COP26. The meeting in Rome is targeted at parliamentarians affiliated with climate
and environment-related committees, while the Glasgow meeting is open to all parliamentarians
that plan to attend COP26.
At the end of these meetings, and in keeping with usual practice at previous Parliamentary
Meetings in the context of COP, the IPU expects to adopt an outcome document aiming to chart a
course for increased parliamentary action on climate change. A first draft of the outcome document
will be shared in early July to allow sufficient time for parliaments to review and suggest
amendments. The Rome meeting will adopt a draft outcome document. The final outcome
document will be finalized and adopted at the Parliamentary Meeting at COP26 in Glasgow.
Additional information on the two meetings and relevant documents will be made available to you
and will also be posted here:
https://www.ipu.org/events/current-and-future-events.
Please note
that the IPU, the British Group of the IPU and the Italian parliament are unfortunately not in a
position to facilitate accreditation to COP26 or to assist with any logistical arrangements, notably
visa support for entry into the UK or Italy. Those matters are to be handled by each delegate
individually.
We sincerely hope that you will accept our invitation for your parliament to participate in these two
events as this will help ensure their success. We look forward to welcoming you in both Rome and
Glasgow later this year.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Chungong
Secretary General
Inter-Parliamentary
Union
Harriet Baldwin, MP
Chair
BGIPU
Maria Elisabetta Alberti
Casellati
President
Italian Senate
Roberto Fico
President
Italian Chamber of
Deputies