Why am I going to COP26 and why should you care?!
A few weeks ago, I climbed Ben Nevis.
In 10 days’ time, I’m heading back to Scotland to a very different type of summit: the COP26 climate talks.
I’ll be attending as an official “Observer” delegate, and so will have the chance to enter what’s known as the Blue Zone (where the negotiations happen and which is not open to the public) with other representatives of global civil society.
I’ve been given this opportunity by the Christian Climate Observers Program, a network of several faith-based organisations in the US and Canada, who have pooled their “spare” Blue Zone badges into a training programme for people like myself who are interested in a career in climate policy. I’m passionate about the environment and so I’ve spent the last year studying how we are going to respond to the huge global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
When it comes to COP26, we certainly have a mountain to climb. Of the countries which have submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), only seven are deemed “almost sufficient” to reach Paris Agreement targets. Recent headlines have been dominated with speculation about which world leaders will be attending and the summit is likely to be limited by the lack of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and potentially China’s Xi Jinping. And all this is happening against the background of the recent IPCC report warning of a “code red for humanity”, 2015-20 being the warmest years on record, and increasing natural disasters, including record-breaking flooding throughout 2021.
There’s a lot at stake.
That’s why I’ll be travelling to Glasgow, along with thousands of activists, academics, businesses, politicians, faith leaders, and representatives from pretty much every sector of society. I’ll be part of civil society groups who are campaigning and lobbying for fairer and more ambitious climate action. In particular, I’ll be spending time with faith groups, emphasising that climate is a justice issue, with those most affected least to blame, and so we have a moral, spiritual duty to act.
As an observer, my job description is pretty obvious. We’re included in the Blue Zone to observe: helping ensure the whole process is transparent and accountable. In the spirit of that (and, to be honest, because I’m way too excited about this opportunity to keep it to myself!) I’ll be trying to post my updates on here during and after the conference. You can also sign up for our daily team newsletter here. If you’re sick of the headlines, fed up with numerous acronyms and jargon, or just want to hear a faith perspective on this whole thing, stick around.
Of course, the reality is that this whole experience might come crashing down if one of us gets covid. A lot has been said about vaccine inequality and the risks of having a summit at all. I would argue that it is essential that this takes place in person – it is simply less democratic and fair if it’s held online – but there still are risks involved for all delegates. If you’re the praying sort, please pray we’ll stay healthy!
Finally, perhaps it’s stretching the metaphor, but at the top of Ben Nevis, the clouds came down and I couldn’t see a thing. It was an achievement, but, quite frankly, anticlimactic. With the famously unsuccessful summit in Copenhagen in 2009, the global community knows what an anticlimactic COP looks like. COP26 looks unlikely to be the resounding success of Paris in 2015, but it’s up to leaders, activists and everyone involved to see where this lands on the scale between the two.
Watch this space.
A view (or lack of) from the summit of Ben Nevis. Honest.
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