UK PM: COP26 Success 'Touch And Go'

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the host of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, has said that the conference's success is 'touch and go'. with a number of major world leaders from large polluters turning down invitations. Speaking to a group of schoolchildren, Johnson said that "It is going to be very, very tough this summit. I am very worried because it might go wrong and we might not get the agreements that we need and it is touch and go, it is very, very difficult, but I think it can be done,"

• Already, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have stated they will not be attending. Japan holds its legislative election on 31 October - the day the summit officially opens - but the other two leaders do not have such an excuse.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen as unlikely to be attending either. The Chinese president has not left the country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.