London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Nov 25, 2025

In Pictures: The world gathers for the COP26 climate summit

In Pictures: The world gathers for the COP26 climate summit

World leaders, campaign groups and protesters have descended on Glasgow for the COP26 climate change conference.

Here are some of the best images and key moments from the crucial climate summit so far.

Ahead of the conference First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met indigenous delegates at a ceremonial gathering at the Tramway in Glasgow.

One of the main aims of the conference is to limit a rise in future global warming to a ceiling of 1.5C.

As delegates gathered, campaigners arrived. Greenpeace's flagship Rainbow Warrior sailed up the Clyde, here passing under the Erskine Bridge.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived by train and joined protesters at Festival Park near the Clyde to send her message of "no more blah, blah, blah".

While on the streets the message was put across in a more Scottish accent.

The slogans were being driven home as Scotland was enjoying a more traditional guising, in the wake of the lockdown restrictions of the Covid pandemic.

Back on the conference trail, and US President Joe Biden's journey to Glasgow drew a lot of attention on the M8 as his motorcade travelled from his accommodation in Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, much was made about the non-attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Queen addressed world leaders and other senior royals at a reception at Glagsow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, with a message to "rise above politics and achieve true statesmanship.

At the conference venue and around the city security has been extremely tight, with thousands of officers drafted in from around the UK.

Inside, all eyes have been on world leaders, to see what agenda can be agreed as deals are set out on emissions, investment and global climate targets.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined one such pledge along with the United States to slash emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane.

Keeping up the pressure are groups like Extinction Rebellion, who have also been targeting green investment and financial insitistutions.

As talks continued, there was some disappointment as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi only committed to a net zero target for his country by the year 2070.

Activists outside the summit drove home their message that COP26 needed to be a time for action and not "climate games".

Someone else to get her message across was Earthshot Prize finalist Vinisha Umashankar, a schoolgirl from India who has created a solar-powered ironing cart. She took the opportunity to tell world leaders her generation "will live to see the consequences" of their actions at COP26.

Delegates representing indigenous peoples around the world and the global south have been working to make their voices heard among the speeches of world leaders.

And one campaign group seeking to amplify those voices had their inflatable "debt monster" - in the shape of Nessie - seized by police as they sought to launch it on the River Clyde.

More voices were raised by the Glasgow Youth Choir at St Lukes Church in the city, bringing their message to the conference.

Adding a bit of celebrity glitz was Leonardo DiCaprio, who attended the conference and also met Prince Charles and Stella McCartney at a fashion installation by the designer, at the Kelvingrove.

The world leaders summit has finished but the work of the negotiators from countries around the globe will continue as COP26 runs its course.

Security around the event remains as tight as ever, with talks continuing through until 12 November.

And the work of campaigners and protesters is also continuing on the streets and at venues surrounding the conference.

The use of coal around the world is a key issue, and these Pikachus joined activists from the No Coal Japan coalition

Youth climate activist Kato Ewekia Taomia, from Tuvalu, addressed delegates in the hall. Tuvalu is one of the nations particularly under threat from rising sea levels.

The seas are also the focus for Ocean Rebellion, who have been drawing attention to the climate's impact on the world's marine life.

Tongan activist Uili Lousi stands alongside "Flare Oceania 2021", created by artist John Gerrard, a real-time moving image showing a simulation of the seas around Tonga with the flag/flare embedded in it.

As the weekend approaches, larger mass protests are being held, with the Fridays For Future Scotland Climate Strike on Friday and the Global Day for Climate Justice march on Saturday.

Placards were in full effect on the Climate Strike march, which took place through the centre of the city.

The young activists march gathered in Kelvingrove Park in the west of the city.

Thousands took to the streets to call for world leaders to take more urgent action on the climate.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
UK Government Launches Consultation on Major Overhaul of Settlement Rules
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Arsenal Move Six Points Clear After Eze’s Historic Hat-Trick in Derby Rout
Wealthy New Yorkers Weigh Second Homes as the ‘Mamdani Effect’ Ripples Through Luxury Markets
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” Extends U.K. No. 1 Run to Five Weeks
UK VPN Sign-Ups Surge by Over 1,400 % as Age-Verification Law Takes Effect
Former MEP Nathan Gill Jailed for Over Ten Years After Taking Pro-Russia Bribes
Majority of UK Entrepreneurs Regard Government as ‘Anti-Business’, Survey Shows
UK’s Starmer and US President Trump Align as Geneva Talks Probe Ukraine Peace Plan
UK Prime Minister Signals Former Prince Andrew Should Testify to US Epstein Inquiry
Royal Navy Deploys HMS Severn to Shadow Russian Corvette and Tanker Off UK Coast
China’s Wedding Boom: Nightclubs, Mountains and a Demographic Reset
Fugees Founding Member Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in High-Profile US Foreign Influence Case
WhatsApp’s Unexpected Rise Reshapes American Messaging Habits
United States: Judge Dressed Up as Elvis During Hearings – and Was Forced to Resign
Johnson Blasts ‘Incoherent’ Covid Inquiry Findings Amid Report’s Harsh Critique of His Government
Lord Rothermere Secures £500 Million Deal to Acquire Telegraph Titles
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Envoys Deliver Ultimatum to Ukraine: Sign Peace Deal by Thursday or Risk Losing American Support
Zelenskyy Signals Progress Toward Ending the War: ‘One of the Hardest Moments in History’ (end of his business model?)
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
The U.S. State Department Announces That Mass Migration Constitutes an Existential Threat to Western Civilization and Undermines the Stability of Key American Allies
Students Challenge AI-Driven Teaching at University of Staffordshire
Pikeville Medical Center Partners with UK’s Golisano Children’s Network to Expand Pediatric Care
Germany, France and UK Confirm Full Support for Ukraine in US-Backed Security Plan
UK Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods Face Rising Backlash as Pandemic Schemes Unravel
UK Records Coldest Night of Autumn as Sub-Zero Conditions Sweep the Country
UK at Risk of Losing International Doctors as Workforce Exodus Grows, Regulator Warns
ASU Launches ASU London, Extending Its Innovation Brand to the UK Education Market
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Visit China in January as Diplomatic Reset Accelerates
Google Launches Voluntary Buyouts for UK Staff Amid AI-Driven Company Realignment
UK braces for freezing snap as snow and ice warnings escalate
Majority of UK Novelists Fear AI Could Displace Their Work, Cambridge Study Finds
UK's Carrier Strike Group Achieves Full Operational Capability During NATO Drill in Mediterranean
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
Nvidia Again Beats Forecasts, Shares Jump in After-Hours Trading
Wintry Conditions Persist Along UK Coasts After Up to Seven Centimetres of Snow
UK Inflation Eases to 3.6 % in October, Opening Door for Rate Cut
UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
UK Consumer Optimism Plunges Ahead of November Budget
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
×