Alok Sharma, one of the Indian-origin ministers in UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet, has relinquished his role as Business Secretary in a mini-reshuffle to take sole charge as President of COP26 — the United Nations climate summit scheduled for Glasgow, Scotland, in November.
The Agra-born minister, who was until now in charge of dual roles, will focus entirely on what has been dubbed as the largest summit the UK has ever hosted, bringing together representatives from nearly 200 countries, including India.
Downing Street said on Friday that Johnson had asked Sharma to take on the new charge to drive forward coordinated global action to tackle climate change to meet the high ambitions for the summit.
“The biggest challenge of our time is climate change and we need to work together to deliver a cleaner, greener world and build back better for present and future generations,” said Sharma.