The big climate circus is in town: What to expect at COP 26 in Glasgow

The annual UN climate change conference will be held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12.

The stage is set, the bright lights are on, the world's attention will be sharply focused on a small Scottish town in the United Kingdom. Can the acrobatics of diplomacy scale down the ups and downs of freak weather conditions? Can the jamboree of volunteers, protestors, and world leaders pull off a mighty feat and get a deal that's good for the planet and fair to the developing world? COP26 negotiators will have to walk the tightrope of climate justice while winging a deal to keep the Planet's temperature from rising.

This will be the fourth UN climate convention that I have attended, and I have never understood why a conference to discuss rising temperatures is held in such cold climes as Copenhagen, Paris, and this time Glasgow. In fact, one of the most enjoyable conferences I recall reporting from was in Cancun, Mexico even though no significant milestones were achieved at this COP. But those of us travelling from Asia had to make our way through snowy Chicago to land in sunny Cancun, it was most certainly a grim reminder of how the weather shapes our lives.