Welcome to a special edition of the Rising Clyde, the COP26 Coalition’s newsletter! Tune in to this edition’s soundtrack (which we will teach everyone in the Coalition to sing for next year), and get ready for the Global Gathering starting this Thursday!
We’re now less than a week away from From the Ground Up: Global Gathering for Climate Justice, with over 3000 people now signed up! Continue to spread the word, prepare for some amazing programme announcements, and SIGN UP!
To make the festival a success, we need YOUR help to get the word out as far as possible. Please give us a follow, and help us out by liking, commenting and (most importantly!) sharing our events.
Here’s a preview of some of our best sessions, from Trade Union organisers discussing just transition to indigenous campaigners teaching us about indigenous territorial rights for climate action.
Same Storm, Different Boats: Second Political Statement
We, the COP26 Coalition, have come together under the common cause of climate justice. In our last political statement, we drew attention to the deeply entwined nature of the multiple crises we face. Of course, these still persist – we still face a devastating pandemic that is devastating the most vulnerable in society, as well as an unprecedented recession destroying people’s livelihoods, and all the while the climate crisis continues.
But one important thing has changed since then: everywhere around the world, grassroots movements are collectively speaking truth to power, holding those responsible for the many crises we face.
To reflect this, and to further unite activists across the world to challenge the greenwashing coming from governments and corporations around the world, we have released a second political statement.
Any civil society organisation can sign in support, but please make sure you do this by Wednesday 11 November. Please circulate the statement in your circles.
And now, as a treat, one last peak at an amazing session from our gathering next week…
News and Resources
- The inevitable, unavoidable, seemingly all-consuming news this week is that the United States has chosen a new emperor, and fiinally managed to get rid of the orange shitebag. Both Biden and Harris have climate plans which, though far from perfect, would present something for the climate movement to build on. Trump’s climate plan amounted to ecocide and genocide. So, let’s take a breather, and then continue to organise for the change we need.
- While the votes were still being counted, however, the U.S. exited the Paris Agreement. While this might seem like bad news, given the role the U.S. has historically played in undermining international climate diplomacy, perhaps it’s not the worst thing to happen.
- In much better news, movements in the Philippines have won a massive victory as their years of campaigning have forced the government to announce a moratorium on new coal power plants. The U.K. could learn a thing or two. As Ed Miliband wrote this week, there’s no more time for bluster and rhetoric: the best way for the U.K. to give COP26 a chance of being a useful meeting is by the power of its domestic action. Walk the walk.