(Bloomberg) -- A crucial international summit on climate change due to take place in the U.K. in November may need to be postponed or radically redesigned due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Officials are discussing options for reducing in-person attendance at the United Nations COP26 summit and even potentially delaying the event for a second time, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The gathering was originally due to be held in Glasgow last year but the global health crisis forced organizers to put it back by 12 months.

A delay would be a setback for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ambitions to demonstrate political leadership of the climate change agenda, and a blow to campaigners’ hopes of securing a deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.K. government said it was still keen to hold the summit this year as planned.

“We are working on the basis of COP26 being held in person this November, while closely monitoring the Covid situation,” the government said in a statement. “The summit team is working closely with all partners and exploring what different scenarios might mean for COP26 and how we plan for that, whilst putting the health of the participants and the local community first.”

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