Hi again,
If you saw the email I sent from Glasgow last Friday, you won’t be shocked to hear the UN climate summit hasn’t delivered the bold emissions cuts and supportive finance that people and planet desperately need. It became clear early in the talks that success of that level wasn’t really on the cards.
After a flurry of flashy (but loophole-filled) announcements at the start of COP26, rich countries have shirked their responsibility to the planet and to the people who’ve done least to cause the climate crisis.
Now that I’ve got that out the way, I want to tell you why I think you should have hope for the future – if, together, we keep up the momentum of the past 2 weeks.
- Some countries have recognised the need to end coal, oil and gas. Others committed to stop financing fossil fuels overseas. That happened because people like you demanded progress.
- The climate movement is bigger and broader than ever before. Our network of groups have done an incredible job of getting their local communities behind climate action. Billions of people around the world are now demanding change.
- The UK government is under real pressure to ditch new coal, oil and gas projects. The summit has highlighted the government’s hypocritical position on fossil fuels [1]. We must seize this chance to end these developments. Other wealthy countries are under pressure to drop fossil fuels too.
- The unfairness of the climate crisis has been in the spotlight. Nowhere near enough has been done to support poorer countries that have done the least to cause global heating. But thanks to global protests the issue is finally getting more recognition.
- Although the media billed COP26 as the last chance to save the planet, that was never the case. It was an opportunity for progress. But progress doesn’t only happen at these UN summits – the climate crisis was never going to be fixed in 2 weeks. We now mustn’t let the government off the hook until the next summit rolls around.
I’d really like to get your thoughts on the talks too and ask a few questions about the opportunities we gave you to take part.
Campaigning for climate action mustn’t slow down now that COP26 has finished. And we rely on your input to make sure we’re as effective as possible.
So if you’ve got 5 minutes to fill in a quick survey, here’s the first question:
Before the talks, were you expecting countries to reach the kind of bold, binding deal that people and planet need?
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If you've been campaigning alongside us for years – or even if you're new to Friends of the Earth – you'll probably know there are lots of ups and downs in the fight against climate breakdown.
But when I'm feeling downhearted it's our collective energy and our connection to each other that gives me hope. Last Saturday’s global day of action, which brought millions of people around the world together – including at hundreds of events across the UK – was a real moment of inspiration.
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I’ll be in touch soon with more ways we can make a difference.
Best wishes from Glasgow,
Rachel
Climate Campaigner
NOTES:
[1] From a massive gas project off the coast of Mozambique to a new oil field in the North Sea and a new mine in Cumbria, the government is still throwing its weight behind fossil fuels – despite its claims to be a climate leader.
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