Dear John,

The COP28 Climate Conference kicks off at the end of this month. 

COP28 is the 28th round of these annual climate negotiations. Despite this, there still hasn’t been an agreement from world leaders to phase out climate-wrecking fossil fuels. Unless we kick up a fuss, fossil fuels will be the elephant in the room during the negotiations. Again. 

This year, Stop Climate Chaos is determined to make the fossil fuel elephant in the room impossible to ignore! We’re going to pile on the pressure urging the Irish Government to tackle fossil fuels head on. And we need your help.

Here’s the plan John.

At 11am on the 29th November, the day before COP28 begins, we’ll do a photo stunt to call out COP28’s elephant in the room. Activists dressed as Big Oil executives, wearing business suits and elephant masks, will line up outside the Dáil, their hands dripping in fake oil. (You can see a mock up of the look we’re aiming for below.)

Our banners will urge the Irish Government to promote a fast and fair phase out of fossil fuels at COP28. And urge them to work at home to break Ireland’s own dependence on fossil fuels too.

If you’ve got a suit - and would like to pose as one of these elephant-headed Big Oil executives in the stunt - then we’d love to hear from you. Please email [email protected] if you're interested. We’ll provide the elephant mask and fake oil but we’ll need you to have a suit. 

Not available to come to Dublin on the 29th or don’t have a suit? Don’t worry! We’ve got some important jobs for you too. 

We’ll be inviting Stop Climate Chaos supporters to increase the impact of our action by sharing our “elephant in the room” photos on social media on the day. We want to create a real social media storm!  

We’ll also be encouraging people to do their own mini photo stunts at home or in your local area, with your family, friends or local group. We’ll email you a social media kit with printable elephant masks and mini placards that you can print out and pose with. We’ll be in touch again soon with more details. For now please put the 29th November in your diary. And start practicing your  elephant pose! 

By acting together, we can push for a COP28 outcome that doesn’t ignore fossil fuels. 

In solidarity.

Aaron

Stop Climate Chaos Activism Support Officer

Stop Climate Chaos is a coalition of civil society organizations campaigning to ensure Ireland does its fair share to tackle the causes and consequences of climate change.