COP26 – Let’s Open The Conversation

Today is the start of the long awaited COP26 summit on climate change, which is being held in Glasgow. I have enjoyed Blogtober and this is my final post of the month, but there is no doubt that my blog will change its focus slightly for a fortnight as I want to make sure we engage in conversations about climate change, especially during this vital conference of international leaders.

Why does it matter so much?

I think this is really easy to answer. There is nothing more important than this issue right now. As scientists and commentators agree, we have very little time to turn things around, but there is still a chance that we can begin to slow down the most devastating effects of increased global temperatures.

Greta Thunberg was being interviewed by Andrew Marr this morning and she gave a robust interview about the upcoming summit. When asked if she thinks world leaders such as Biden are doing nearly enough, she made it clear that public opinion is the most important player in this. Politicians will make token gestures but they will only implement difficult changes when the public demand it.

While Biden does make good gestures, there is still obvious funding for fossil fuel expansion, as there is in Britain. In the UK, reducing taxes on short flights is not the most positive measure at a time like this. We should be supporting public transport, making trains much more affordable. As it stands, a train ticket from London to Glasgow is £170 for a single one-way ticket, whereas a plane ticket would be merely £45.

So, let’s start taking notice and engage with the content that emerges during this conference. I urge fellow bloggers to mention climate change within their forthcoming posts and for everybody to get involved with discussions and forums. We, the public, can influence change ourselves and, while small changes to our daily lives can make tiny differences, we need to push for a huge implementation of carbon reducing policies right now.

If we don’t contain temperature rises to 1.5 degrees C then billions of people will suffer from heatwaves, flooding and even loss of territory. Some islands will be submerged in water, many forests will be lost and our agricultural capacity will be greatly reduced.

OK. I have said my piece, for now. It isn’t an easy message to get across and people like everything to be positive these days, but climate change is a real emergency. An absolute crisis. We need to shout about it and make sure we protect species, biomes and our future on this planet.

For a previous post about why climate change matters, click here. Please comment beneath and talk about whether or not you feel well informed about climate change or whether you feel your government is acting upon it. I would love to know local examples of significant change.