THE Westminster government has been accused of locking climate campaigners from the global South out of this month’s crucial Cop26 climate summit by continuing to block access to vaccines. 

As world leaders gathered today for the summit’s opening session, campaign groups said the decisions made over the next 10 days could be brought into question due to the conference’s exclusionary nature. 

Dorothy Guerrero, of Global Justice Now, said the refusal to give more manufacturers, particularly in developing countries, access to produce the vaccine is part of the reason some had been unable to attend.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Britain, the United Nations framework convention on climate change and partners would work to provide vaccines to party, observer and media representatives registered for Cop26 who are unable to get them otherwise.

But new analysis shows that Britain has taken more vaccine doses from supplies meant for Africa, Asia and Latin America than it has donated, as G20 pledges to get 40 per cent of citizens in all countries vaccinated by the end of the year.

A report from the People’s Vaccine Alliance last week found that Britain had delivered less than 10 per cent of the overall donation commitments it made at the G7 summit in June.

Global Justice Now says this highlights the need to waive intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines and share the know-how needed to manufacture vaccines in all countries.

Demand Climate Justice’s Nathan Thanki said many people from the global South had been unable to attend due to problems with visas, quarantine and costs — much of which he believes could have been avoided.

He said this was a “political issue” and a “far cry from the UK presidency’s stated goal of having the most inclusive Cop ever.”

This criticism was echoed by political leaders, with Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie claiming the government’s approach to vaccines had added insult to the injury of Covid-19, depriving some nations of their voice. 

Mr Harvie said intellectual property rights should be waived by the government, adding: “The vaccine issue is a symptom of a complete moral failure on the part of the wealthy and developed world to recognise that a response to a pandemic has to be global.”

A Westminster government spokesperson said they have worked tirelessly to ensure Cop26 is inclusive, accessible and safe, pointing to support given to delegates to access vaccination.