Glasgow - our experiences
So how was Glasgow?
A question I did not know how to answer at first. Mostly I just nodded and said “intense but I still have to reflect about it, then I can tell you more” but all in all it was “very empowering and very tiring” (Heleen).
Before going to COP26 I was mostly excited. Excited about having the opportunity to witness the most important climate summit since the one in Paris in 2015. The last chance for the Global North to gather and commit to past agreements. Glasgow was seen as “the last chance to have a future”. As Mohammed Nasheed, parliamentarian from the Maldives, put it: “We cannot wait another year. We cannot leave with empty promises. We want to do a deal. Glasgow is our last chance”.
Accordingly, I went to the conference hoping for drastic commitments. Quickly I was disillusioned and my initial slight hope that something fruitful would come out of the negotiations vanished. Broken promises, the hypocrisy of world leaders committing to a change to clean energy in front of cameras while having new fossil fuel projects in the pipelines, the lack of representation of frontline communities, the fact that more delegates from the fossil fuel industry than from any other country were present at COP, contributed to that.
The focus was not on a just transition but more on how to save the economy. (Heleen)
First of all, COP is a very exclusive space and having the means to attend puts us in a privileged position. We had access to the green zone (a space where daily events were hosted for the public, which you needed to book tickets for though weeks in advance) but not the blue zone (a space accessible to world leaders, NGOs and a few activists, the real decisions happen in there). At a Fridays For Future rally I heard a speech where someone was saying that youth activists know that global leaders will not deliver the needed results to adhere to the Paris Agreement. But we will not let them get away with it, we will let them know we disapprove, we will make noise and continue to fight for climate justice. Hence, it was very important that as many activists as possible were protesting outside, however, only the people on the inside actually have the ability to make decisions to determine whether we can have a liveable future.
People-power is like cough drops, they make you feel better when you’re sick but in the end they don't heal you. (Emil)
Beforehand we did plan to some extent. But we learned about most protests and rallies which were taking place during the course of the week. So we had to navigate what to do and were mostly running around trying to do everything in too little time. We experienced that activism can be draining. For several hours you are screaming with a crowd, wanting to be heard, easy to ignore. On the streets of Glasgow we had an optimistic feeling when we saw the amount of people showing up to fight for a common goal and to put pressure on the slow negotiations. To see how many people cared and travelled to Glasgow to protest was encouraging. We had found a setting among like-minded people where you felt safe to raise your voice. The solidarity, creativity, energy and people-power of the climate justice movement was truly inspiring and is what kept me going and gave me hope.
I had an optimistic feeling outside, but not when thinking about what was happening in the blue zone. (Lisa)
The most important realisation for me during COP was what we can contribute to the conversation, what our task is after being in Glasgow. We must use our means and platform to amplify voices of the most affected people by climate change. Another article delving deeper into that topic will follow soon.
Returning from Scotland we shared an unpleasant feeling. COP26 was a wake-up call, a reminder that we are in the middle of a climate emergency, that time is running out and necessary action is not being taken. But suddenly we found ourselves in stuffy classrooms and deadlines for assignments were coming up. Does any of this matter, we asked ourselves. There are more important issues going on but now we are forced to passively continue to lead our everyday lives. By this we are not trying to provoke discontent with university and studying. We are obviously very privileged to be able to attend university as education is such a powerful tool to implement change but this was a feeling we shared. It took some time to find the joy for academics and our rhythm again and being able to process the daily input of information.
Reading this you might ask yourselves what you can do. You might feel disillusioned by the outcome of COP26, feel the climate anxiety creeping up on you and have a general feeling of either anger or helplessness. The answer is simple: Within our generation there are people who don’t have the means and then there are people who have privileges and access to resources. Assuming you are part of the ladder, you have the moral obligation to educate yourself and take action. Don’t just accept your fate, go to the streets, demand climate justice and put pressure on your government. Change will not just miraculously happen. So we urge you to look for a local group which you could join and take action!
Written by Myrto Hirche
Sources:
Mikaela Loch’s Instagram Livestream COP26 debrief
Smoke, B. (2021) “COP26 is our last chance to save humanity”, Huck, https://www.huckmag.com/perspectives/cop26-is-our-last-chance-to-save-humanity/