Delegates from around the world are convening next week in Scotland at the COP26 summit. Our Global Advocacy Manager, Chris Wilke, will be on the ground in Glasgow to represent Waterkeeper Alliance and provide updates from this most crucially important gathering.
COP26, or as it’s officially known, the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), takes on additional significance in light of this summer’s dire report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These findings were rightly referred to by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as a ‘code red for humanity.’ Time is running out to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Methane, in particular, has been identified as a major driver of climate change, and cutting methane emissions represents a tremendous opportunity to reverse the catastrophic trends of climate change before it’s too late.
That is why we oppose hydropower dams and their unsafe levels of methane emissions, and why we are urging the U.N. and its member governments to stop incentivizing new hydropower dams. It is not a clean energy solution and should not be treated as such. Chris, along with our partners, will be presenting the petition during the COP in Glasgow.
Chris will also be on hand as the 2021 Insure Our Future Scorecard is released on Wednesday, November 3rd. These scorecards analyze the evolving role of the global insurance industry in underwriting climate chaos and the future of fossil fuels, highlighting progress and loopholes, calling out leaders and laggards, and identifying challenges and opportunities for the year ahead.
Be sure to tune in as Chris joins Kissimmee Waterkeeper and Collier County Waterkeeper for daily live broadcasts from COP26! These daily dispatches will feature highlights from the summit as well as some surprise guests. Check our Facebook page daily at 3pm ET / 7pm GMT starting this Sunday to watch.
And lastly, you can follow along with Chris as he does a Twitter takeover on our account! Hashtag #ChrisAtCOP. We look forward to sharing more updates from COP26 next week.
Here’s to everyone around the world defending our rivers, watersheds, and oceans, as well as the ecosystems and communities that depend on them.
