COP26: Which world leaders are attending the climate summit and who is snubbing it?

World leaders are in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit.

The climate change conference, which started on October 31, will run for two weeks and finish on November 12.

But which head of states are attending the summit, billed by experts as the world’s last chance to get climate change under control, and who, more importantly, is snubbing it?

Who is attending COP26?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be attending the summit, as the UK is set to host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

Boris Johnson said he was “very worried” over whether COP26 summit will be a success.

US President Joe Biden will also attend COP26, having already landed in Europe ahead of the summit’s start on Sunday.

Mr Biden has flown to Rome for an audience with the Pope, where the pair will discuss issues such as climate change, Covid-19 and tackling poverty.

He will be joined by John Kerry, who serves as the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

French President Emmanuel Macron will be attending the COP26 summit amid diplomatic tension over the AUKUS defence pact that saw Australia pull out of a multi-billion pound submarine deal with France.

Mr Macron spoke with the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is also attending, before the event in a bid to boost the somewhat frosty relations between the two countries.

Also attending the conference will be Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon, Italy’s Mario Draghi, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Israel’s Naftali Bennett, Turkey’s Recep Tayipp Erdogan and India’s Narendra Modi.

Who is snubbing COP26?

China’s president, Xi Jinping, is not attending in person but will address delegates on Monday in the form of a written statement.

An official schedule said his statement would be uploaded to the conference website following addresses by world leaders, including his US and French counterparts.

Mr Jinping has avoided foreign travel since before the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will not attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the Kremlin has confirmed.

No reason was given for the decision not to attend, but a Kremlin spokesperson said climate change was an “important” priority for Russia.

Russia produces as estimated five per cent of global CO2 output.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro is reportedly missing COP26 to instead visit an Italian town awarding him honorary citizenship.

Mr Bolsonaro and his government have faced biting criticism on the environment, especially in the wake of massive deforestation in the Amazon – and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan cancelled plans to attend COP26 on Monday because Britain failed to meet demands on security arrangements, Turkish media quoted him as saying.

Mr Erdogan had been expected to join world leaders following the G20 summit in Rome at the weekend, but instead landed back in Turkey shortly after midnight on Monday.

Full list of countries we know are attending COP26 so far:

Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, EU representatives from the 27 member states, France, Ghana, India, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Scotland, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.

Full list of non-attendees:

Brazil, China, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Turkey