Looking Back to Look Forward – COP26 and beyond

Always a delight to engage with the Religious Diversity Centre in New Zealand and to be interviewed by our good friend Jocelyn Armstrong. Together with Reporter Rod Oram (another good friend of Interfaith Scotland) we explored our ‘cosmic COP26 moment/s’ and hopes for the future. COP26 #COP26 #sifw2020

Jocelyn Armstrong in conversation with Dr Maureen Sier, Director of Interfaith Scotland, and Rod Oram who has been “Our Man in Glasgow” for the Religious Diversity Centre Aotearoa New Zealand during the time of COP26

Jocelyn Armstrong asks what stands out:

Dr. Maureen Sier: The interfaith vigil in George Square: that minute’s silence during the vigil raised the sacred energy. Mania Talia from TuCAN – Tuvalu Climate Action Network gave me a scarf knitted by indigenous people. He showed me a video of the ocean literally pouring into the houses on the shores of Tuvalu.

Ron Oram: I sensed the Spirit of COP – not necessarily dark – it had three things. FIrst, there was “cold-iron”. They were utterly realistic. There was this clear sense of how grave things were. Secondly, they were immensely creative about what the solutions are. They were relentlessly positive about that, despite the pushbacks there. Thirdly, they had this huge awareness to co-operate and to find others to co-operate with. There was this sense of younger people in negotiating positions – younger people in government who were trying to work their way around intractible situations and find solutions. It was not the grey haired group doing this, but younger people.