As COVID cases rise, some activists fearful of climate talks

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Climate activist Lavetanalagi Seru has been watching COVID-19 case numbers rise in the U.K. ahead of the U..N climate conference beginning Sunday. It scares him — even though he’s been vaccinated and is only 29. But the campaigner from the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network is determined to travel from his home in Fiji to Scotland to bring attention to the plight of island nations being battered by climate change. Despite the concerns of some of the delegates from around the world, the British government says the conference will be safe and argues that world leaders must meet face-to-face in order to act now to prevent catastrophic global warming. Some observers agree that the climate emergency justifies the risk.