COP26, a major climate summit due to take place in Glasgow from 9 November 2020, has been postponed.

The postponement was announced in a joint statement from the UK and UN, following a virtual meeting of officials.

The announcement comes after it was revealed that the Scottish Event Campus, where COP26 was to take place, will become a temporary hospital in order to take care of Covid-19 patients.

The decision to postpone COP26 was taken by UN officials, including UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa and UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma, who is president-designate of the meeting.

Sharma said in a statement: “The world is currently facing an unprecedented global challenge and countries are rightly focusing their efforts on saving lives and fighting Covid-19.

“That is why we have decided to reschedule COP26.

“We will continue working tirelessly with our partners to deliver the ambition needed to tackle the climate crisis and I look forward to agreeing a new date for the conference.”

The conference will now be taking place in mid-2021.