Alex Sobel MP selected as Rapporteur to advance IPU engagement in COP26
BGIPU is very pleased to confirm that Alex Sobel MP has been selected by its Executive Committee as its COP26 Rapporteur. Given the joint UK-Italy presidency, he will work closely with the IPU President, Duarte Pacheco, the IPU Secretariat and the Italian Parliament-appointed Rapporteur Alessia Rotta, Chair of the Environment, Territory and Public Works Standing Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, to guide the engagement of parliamentary counterparts in meetings in the lead-up to and at the COP26 in Glasgow in November.
Prior to becoming an MP, Alex was the lead for Climate on Leeds City Council and represented the City at European Green Capital 2015 City Leadership Summit hosted by the then Mayor of Bristol, alongside Mayors from Florence, Barcelona and Warsaw. Alex is the founder and current Chair of the Net Zero All-Party Parliamentary Group and previously served on the Environmental Audit Committee as Vice-Chair as well as being a co-sponsor of the Climate and Ecology Emergency Bill, a private members’ bill which received its first reading in September 2020.
A member of the opposition Labour Party, Alex has been the Shadow Minister of State for Tourism and Heritage since April 2020, and is currently Chair of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA) Parliamentary Group which is the only environmental group formally affiliated to the Labour Party in the UK.
Alex has also attended several COP meetings previously so is very well-placed and experienced in taking on the role of UK Rapporteur and looks forward to collaborating closely with Ms Rotta and all our Italian counterparts.