Greta Thunberg: Might not attend COP26 in Glasgow

Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg has said that she may not come to COP26 - the important meeting about climate change taking place in Scotland in November.

She has said her decision on whether to attend or not would be based on whether the event was "safe and democratic".

That means Greta would want to make sure those from poorer countries attending are fully vaccinated and able to travel.

The organisers of the talks are offering vaccines to all participants as part of the signing up process.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (left) and German climate activist Luisa Neubauer (right) make placards during a protest outside the Swedish Parliament as part of Fridays for Future demonstrations in Aug 2021

Greta is returning to school after a year off and she said that she wouldn't be skipping lessons if she did attend COP26 because it falls during Sweden's school holidays.

If she does decide to travel to Scotland, she will take the train from Stockholm in Sweden.

The environmental campaigner still thinks the meeting will not lead to change "if we don't treat this crisis like a crisis."

"We know that change will not come from the COP, from within these negotiations. The change will come when there are enough people outside on the streets demanding change."

The official poster for the COP26 summit

Face-to-face meetings

Greta said that she may not travel to the global UN climate conference which starts on 1 November, but will do if it is "considered safe and democratic" - including ensuring participants from poorer countries are fully vaccinated and able to travel.

Former UN climate change chief Christiana Figueres said she thought the conference should be a mix of in person talks in Glasgow but also move some online.

But Greta says that should be avoided if face-to-face meetings are safe.

She said: "I'm not an expert but we get much more results when we meet in person. It's hard to argue against that. But, of course, if it's not considered safe then we have to go for the safest option.

"To be honest, I don't think that either one will lead to much results. A physical meeting will probably bring more results but still nowhere close to what's needed."

Greta attended COP25 in Madrid back in 2019

Some countries "do a bit more than others"

COP26 will be held in Glasgow in November and the Scottish government has called its climate change legislation as "world leading" before, which includes a target to reach net-zero emissions by 2045.

However Greta said she doesn't think of Scotland as a world leader on climate change.

The activist told BBC Scotland: "I mean, there are some countries that do a bit more than certain others, but then if we look at it from a broader perspective then I think we can safely say there are no countries - at least in the global north - that are even doing close to what would be needed."

The University of Winchester installed a statue of Greta in 2021

The Scottish Green political party have recently agreed a deal which mean their leaders are partners in government for the first time. The leaders of the party say they will push for Scotland to help tackle climate crisis.

But Thunberg said it was not as easy as voting for a green political party. She said: "It's a hopeful sign that people want something that's more 'green' - whatever 'green' means - but in order to solve this, we need to tackle this at a more systemic approach."