China’s President Xi Jinping will address the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow on Monday in the form of a written statement.An official schedule says Xi’s statement will be uploaded to the conference website following addresses by world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and President Emmanuel Macron of France.According to the list of speakers released by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Xi is the only leader to address the “first part of the high-level segment for heads of state and government” in a written statement. He was previously expected to appear by video link, according to media reports and a statement from China’s ministry of foreign affairs. His appearance, virtual or otherwise, was not listed on the previous draft schedule of speakers.China is the world’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, making it a key player at Cop26, the latest round of talks aimed at strengthening the fight against global warming, which got under way on Sunday. Despite this, Xi, who has not left China since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, had not been expected to attend the conference in person.In updated pledges, China confirmed to the United Nations last week that it would bring its emissions to a peak before 2030 and cut them to net zero by 2060. It also promised to raise total wind and solar power generation capacity to 1,200 gigawatts by 2030 in order to reach its goals.However, climate watchers were hoping for new pledges to cap energy consumption and an earlier start to reducing the use of coal, currently scheduled to begin in 2026, adding to pressure on China from others world leaders to promise more.Last week Emmanuel Macron asked Xi during a phone call on Tuesday to send the world a “decisive signal” on the climate emergency, according to the French Presidency.Xi also spoke with Boris Johnson on Friday. A Chinese government statement said the two leaders spoke about topics ranging from bilateral ties to sustainability.Xi said Beijing would “do what it says” when it comes to its green and low-carbon development. The statement added that he said China’s goals would mean a “broad and profound economic and societal change,” and that that would be done “step by step and [through] hard work”.