Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia 'lobbied UN scientists to water down report on climate change'
Major countries are attempting to put pressure on scientists to water down a key report into , it has today been reported. Countries including Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Japan are reportedly among the countries who have asked the UN body compiling the report to play down the need to move rapidly away from fossil fuels. Wealthier nations have also reportedly questioned giving more funding to poor countries to assist the move to greener technologies. The claims comes from a leak of documents, seen by the , having been shared by Green Peace's investigative platform . It has been published just days before the major COP26 climate summit due to be held in Glasgow. Leaders at the summit will be asked to make commitments to slow down climate change and keep global warming to 1.5 degrees. According to , the documents contain 32,000 submissions made by governments, companies and other interested parties to officials at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The panel is the UN body tasked with evaluating the science of climate change anre in the process of compiling bringing together scientific evidence on how to tackle climate change. The submissions are a normal part of the report-making process and, because a consensus is needed to make the report effective, evidence from scientists in each country is important. According to the BBC, the comments are 'overwhelmingly designed' to be 'constructive'. But the submissions reportedly contain comments lobbying for issues important to officials' respective countries. According to the BBC, one comment from Australian officials rejects a draft conclusion in the report that closing coal-fired power plants is necessary. Australia is a major coal exporter, shipping the fossil fuel to the likes of Japan, China and South Korea. The draft document also reportedly recommends countries shifting to use of zero-carbon energy sources - like solar, wind, wave or hydro energy. But countries such as Saudi Arabia, a major exporter of oil, and Japan and China, major users of fossil fuels, instead reportedly urge scientists to focus on carbon capture and store technology (CSS). Such technology allows for the continual use of fossil fuels, but instead of allowing the carbon into the atmosphere, captures and stores it permanently underground. It is claimed these CCS technologies could dramatically cut fossil fuel emissions from power plants and some industrial sectors, while allowing countries dependent on fossil fuels to continue to use them. It comes as 's big COP26 moment suffered another blow yesterday as confirmed he is snubbing the summit. The Kremlin said the Russian president will not be attending the gathering in Glasgow at the end of the month. It comes after China's made clear he is not intending to travel to the UN event, heightening fears that the summit will fail to make significant progress in the fight against . Although both countries are expected to send delegations, the presence of national leaders is seen as crucial to add impetus to the process. Mr Johnson has insisted he is hoping for a 'good' turnout in Glasgow, but pointed to the pandemic as a factor. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Covid situation was preventing Mr Putin from travelling. 'He will also not fly to Glasgow, unfortunately,' the spokesman said. 'We need to work out in what format it will be possible to speak via video conference, at what moment 'The issues that will be discussed in Glasgow right now form one of the priorities of our foreign policy.' Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro have also not committed to attending. US President Joe Biden confirmed only last week that he will be there, and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison is coming despite initial doubts. If China does not commit to new action, the prospect of keeping global warming to 1.5C could well be scuppered. The country is responsible for 27 per cent of global carbon emissions. Even the Queen has been unable to conceal her frustration at the vague guest list for COP26. Caught on microphone while attending the opening of the Welsh parliament in Cardiff last week, the monarch said: 'Extraordinary isn't it... I've been hearing all about Cop... still don't know who is coming... no idea. 'We only know about people who are not coming... It's really irritating when they talk, but they don't do.' Mr Johnson vowed to make Britain the 'Qatar of hydrogen' today as he wooed businesses chiefs including at a glitzy pre-COP26 summit - urging them to invest 'trillions' in tackling . The PM gave a speech and chatted to the Microsoft billionaire on stage at the Science Museum as he asked industry leaders to commit funding to decarbonising the world economy - insisting 'green is good, green is right'. He said the UK had a responsibility to act on cutting emissions as 'we were the first to knit the deadly tea cosy of CO2' - pointing to the 'big bets' the government is making on electric vehicles and gigafactories for battery production. Mr Johnson also played down concerns that the looming COP26 summit in Glasgow will be a failure, saying he is hoping for a 'good turnout' of world leaders despite expected snubs from and Russia. He said there were $24trillion represented in the room at the Science Museum conference London. 'I can deploy billions with the approval of the Chancellor, obviously but you in this room, you can deploy trillions,' he said. 'I want to say to each and every one of those dollars, you are very welcome to the UK and you have come to the right place at the right time.' He said hydrogen would be a significant part of the solution to replacing fossil fuels. 'To drive a digger or a truck or to hurl a massive passenger plane down a runway, you need what Jeremy Clarkson used to call ''grunt'' I think there may be a technical term for it but ''grunt''. 'Hydrogen provides that grunt, so we are making big bets on hydrogen, we are making bets on solar and hydro, and, yes of course on nuclear as well, for our baseload.'