Cop26: Vladimir Putin says he will not attend in person in setback for British event

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, will not attend Cop26, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, dealing a blow to British efforts to get world leaders in one room to negotiate a global deal to cut greenhouse emissions.

Mr Putin's decision to skip the climate change conference later this month in Glasgow comes as the leaders of China and India are also uncertain to attend, dampening chances of a breakthrough agreement to curb global warming between the biggest economies.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, confirmed on Wednesday that the Russian president would attend remotely rather in person, but did not give a reason. Last week, Mr Putin said he may not attend due to Covid restrictions and was seeking advice from epidemiologists.

Asked if Boris Johnson was disappointed at Mr Putin's decision to snub Cop26, Downing Street told reporters: "The Prime Minister has said before that we would obviously strongly encourage leaders to attend given this is a very critical moment in terms of tackling climate change.

"The Prime Minister is looking forward to meeting all leaders who have confirmed their attendance, which I believe is over 120 so far. We obviously expect all countries to be represented at a senior level, given that we're asking for meaningful pledges towards tackling this issue."

The spokesman declined to comment when asked by The Telegraph if Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, had yet confirmed his attendance.

Mr Peskov said Russia, the world's fourth-largest greenhouse emitter, was instead talking to the organisers about including Mr Putin in the discussion via a video link, adding that the Kremlin considers climate change to be "one of the most important priorities of our foreign policy."

"We need to work out in what format it will be possible (for Mr Putin) to speak via video conference," he said.

The president of Russia, one of the major fossil fuel producers, has for years denied the danger of climate change but recently spoke about it as a tangible threat to his country and unveiled plans for Russia to go carbon-neutral by 2060.

Russia’s official targets for cutting emissions are, however, not that ambitious.

The Kremlin has tied its projected reduction of greenhouse emissions to 1990, the year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, which was responsible for some of the world’s worst industrial pollution.

Mr Putin admitted in a conference last week that the average annual temperature in Russia was now rising 2.5 times faster than in the rest of the world.

Russia’s average temperature last year was over 3 degrees Centigrade higher than in 1961-1990. Temperatures in the Russian Arctic are even higher, causing the melting of permafrost in Siberia, which covers 65 per cent of Russia's territory.