NICOLA Sturgeon has said the “voices of young people” must be heard loudly after meeting with climate campaigners Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate this morning at Cop26.

Scotland’s First Minister said the “next few days should not be comfortable for leaders, the responsibility to act must be felt”.

Sturgeon was photographed with the two young activists bumping elbows inside the blue zone at COP26, before she was due to speak on a panel about the role of states and regions in fighting climate change.

A video from the BBC also showed Thunberg, Sturgeon and Nakate chatting about how Glasgow is the First Minister's "home city", and the flooding in southern Scotland last week.

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow Times:

Swedish teenager Thunberg arrived in Glasgow on Saturday and was pictured surrounded by other climate activists.

She has not officially been invited to speak at the summit, but will join a large protest this weekend coinciding with COP.

Speaking to Andrew Marr yesterday, the campaigner said she believes it is “possible in theory” to keep global warming below 1.5C, but added: “It’s up to us if we want that to happen.”

The UN climate talks will go on for two weeks in the city, although world leaders are only expected to stay at the event for the first two days.

Sturgeon said she shares Boris Johnson’s “pessimism” over the UN summit, which aims to “secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach”.

Glasgow Times:

However, the First Minister said that pessimism needs to be pushed aside.

“The UK, having the presidency of this COP, has a particular responsibility to corral the leaders, to bring them together, to encourage them to do more than they are currently committed to do,” she told Sky.

“There’s a big gap on emissions, a big gap on climate finance – so much, much work to be done, and I will do everything I can to push it in the right direction.”

Sturgeon went on to say that, if the talks fail to take decisive action on emissions and funding for developing countries – as the UK seeks to secure commitments to 100 billion US dollars a year to tackle climate change – then leaders will be held accountable by the younger generation.

Sturgeon went on: “I hope every leader coming here feels, a massive weight of responsibility.

“If we come out of this in two weeks’ time without the commitments necessary then I don’t know how my generation of leaders looks the next generation in the eye.”