The Steamie

After months of anticipation, the crucial COP26 climate conference in Glasgow has finally begun.

Delegates from around The World have arrived at the Scottish Exhibition Campus - - to join negotiations intended to avoid a climate catastrophe.

While the speeches began inside the main arena, Bbc Scotland spoke to people on The Streets outside about how The Summit it affecting them.

COP26 delegates have been greeted with an authentic Glasgow welcome on Day One of The Summit - The Rain is pouring down.

Traffic in the City Centre is made up mainly of the brought in to service The Conference and police vans from every corner of the UK.

I spot several from Merseyside Police , their yellow livery standing out against the usual white of the Police Scotland cars We Are used to.

Early climate campaigners make their way along The River with damp flags and The City 's COP26 volunteers try to remain cheery in their sodden bobble hats.

Blue-lanyarded delegates are being dropped off at the squinty bridge to walk over The River to The Venue .

I bump into delegates from Gabon in Central Africa .

They arrived in The City less than 24 hours ago but are ready to make their case passionately.

Ghislain Moussavou is The Director general of the government's Forestry Commission . He is here with a private contractor Hadi Ghossein.

The two have just had breakfast in a local café and are ready to go into The Venue and fight their corner.

Mr Moussavou says: " We Are here to Speak Up for Africa. We Are doing a lot to combat The Effects of Climate Change and we bear a lot of its impact. "

Ben Shakespeare Ferguson runs The Steamie café in Finnieston, one of the areas closest to the COP26 venue.

He was concerned on Saturday when the café was empty and thinks people stayed away thinking the main road was closed.

Sunday has been " chaos" So Far .

" We've had a lot of diplomats shouting on phones and people Coming In asking for 'a table of nine' when the maximum we can do is four, " He Said . " But everyone has been nice So Far .

" It's the Last Chance to sort Climate Change and We Are at a tipping point so we can put up with a bit of inconvenience. "

Four doors down, it's a different story at Locker 1012. Student Ewan Duncan who works there has not come across any delegates yet but has felt The Effects of the restrictions on the area.

" We have been given instructions from The Council on How To put our bins out, to try to make The City look nicer, " He Said .

" I feel a bit pessimistic about it. The Conference feels like too little Too Late to be honest.

" I don't think it will do much for Glasgow. All eyes are on Glasgow and They have tried to make The City look nice. They have done things like put 4G in the subway, but I'm not sure if They will Take That away when COP26 is over.

" It seems like They are trying to polish up The City and I don't think They need to do that. "

The Eyes of The World may be on this Scottish city, but not everyone here is happy to be hosting The Summit .

St Vincent Crescent is one of the closest residential streets to the Scottish Events Campus but residents David Watt and Carey Leitch don't care who is jetting in - They feel Under Siege by The Heavy police presence.

They find it disconcerting that there are so many police officers around.

" I know why They are doing it, but I don't want To Live in a place that needs all those police, " said Carey.

David added: " I understand The Council wants to put Glasgow further on the map, but at the same time there are so many other events that haven't happened. At The Moment , it's like living in a Police State . "

" And why isn't it online? said Carey. " I hope it isn't a super-spreading event. "

David agreed: " We've just recorded the highest Covid numbers in Britain since the start of the pandemic and now We Are inviting people from all over The World . And it will put a strain on our NHS. There are thousands of people here and certainly some of those will need medical treatment at some point. "

The COP26 global climate Summit in Glasgow in November is seen as crucial if Climate Change is to be brought under control. Almost 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday Lives .

Source of news: bbc.com