Climate change conference? Let's fly, say police

 Devon & Cornwall cops take flights to COP

A number of officers from Devon & Cornwall Police flew to Glasgow for the COP26 conference, rather than travel by train or road. 

The force has confirmed that police from Devon & Cornwall are among the approximately 10,000 officers deployed for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. 

Although the number of police officers in Glasgow from the Devon & Cornwall force has not been revealed it is believed to be over 200.

Around 7,000 officers from outside Scotland have been sent to the Scottish city to help with the high security event. 

The cost of the policing operation for COP26 is thought to be around £100 million and is the biggest ever deployment of officers in UK history.  

It is a bigger operation than the ones mounted at the G7 summit in Cornwall and the 2012 London Olympics. 

Devon & Cornwall Police admitted that several officers took scheduled flights to Scotland rather than use other forms of transport.  However a spokesperson said: “The majority travelled up in cars and vans.” 

There has been much criticism of attendees using short-haul flights to travel to a conference aimed at reducing greenhouse gases and limiting climate change.  

Environmental campaigners are seeking government funding to improve rail infrastructure and reduce air traffic in order to cut carbon-dioxide emissions.

A recent report from Greenpeace and the OBC-Transeuropa think tank said aeroplanes produce approximately five times more CO2 than trains travelling on a similar route.  

The COP26 summit runs until Friday 12 November 2021.  “COP” stands for “Conference of all Parties” to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty signed in 1994 to help limit climate change.

The event was scheduled to take place last year but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.