Faith For the Climate News at COP26

Today, Day 5 of COP26, Graham Usher, the Church of England’s lead bishop on the environment, publicly confessed that he was feeling “discombobulated” by the amount of sheer stuff happening. And there were chuckles and nods of agreement amongst his co-panelists and audience members.

But don’t worry – we’re not going to overload you with information in these updates. If you’d like more detailed information, there are daily updates from openDemocracy’s Climate Unspun and there’s also the Costa Rican NGO La Ruta Del Clima’s Keeping Up with the COP podcast. If you’d like to share updates with your networks, the Climate Coalition has a fantastic online hub dedicated to COP26.

I’m also trying to avoid the temptation of sharing a ton of pictures with you, despite my adrenalin levels. Having said that, here are some pretty fantastic shots of our exhibition and panel discussion in the Green Zone yesterday.

 

In case you missed it, you can still watch “Faiths together for carbon neutral cities: an interfaith panel discussion“. The quality of the recording is excellent, and so were the speakers. Left to right: Livvy Hanks (Quakers in Britain), Kamran Shezad (the Bahu Trust), Mikey Way (Eco Dharma Network and Extinction Rebellion Buddhists), our very own Canon Giles Goddard (chair), Priya Koria (Hindu Climate Action), and Amandeep Kaur Mann (EcoSikh UK).

 

Our exhibition stall generated much interest and engagement, featuring the work of our Religions for Peace UK-funded capacity-building project, involving the Bahu Trust, Eco Dharma Network, EcoSikh UK and Hindu Climate Action.

A picture paints a thousand words, and this one shows the mutual support and collaboration we share with the Church of England, who generously supported the costs of bringing together our exhibition and panel discussion. Standing (left to right): me (Shanon), Rosh Lal (and this was the first time any of us had met Rosh in person!), Priya, Jo Chamberlain (Church of England National Environment Officer), and Bishop Olivia Graham (Bishop of Reading). Kneeling: Giles and Kamran.

 

 

 

 

And above are more pictures showing you our exhibition before we were mobbed by adoring fans. (Did I also mention that COP26 can make one prone to hyperbole?)

Anyway, beyond the Green Zone, it’s been a joy to connect with individual network members who have made it to Glasgow in person.

A big shout-out to Peter Musgrave, who has given us permission to share this exhibition of his own pictures entited “River’s Edge – climate change in Bangladesh”. If you’re in Glasgow, the exhibition is at the Salvation Army, 1 Houldsworth St G3 8DU. Contact Peter if you’d like more information: petermusgrave1950@gmail.com.

And Ruth Musgrave is keeping a blog of her reflections here in Glasgow. Thanks Peter and Ruth for your presence, passion, support and generosity.

Giles and I have also chaired some great conversations at Sandyford Henderson Memorial Church, which we’ve co-organised with Christian Aid, on the intersections of faith and climate justice.

 

We’ve also been part of some other wonderful conversations at the series of events run by Soka Gakkai International-UK (SGI-UK) and the Centre for Applied Buddhism. The speaker in the image on the left is none other than Elizabeth Wathuti, the Kenyan youth activist who told world leaders here at COP26, “The children cannot live on words and empty promises. They are waiting for you to act.”

This brings us to the issue of what we can all do, as people of faith and allies, in the midst of the deepening negotiations here at COP26.

There’s been positive news coming out of the negotiations – for example, the global deal to end deforestation and new support from more than 20 countries (including Canada and the US), following the UK’s lead in ending public finance for fossil fuels overseas. And there’s the Scottish government’s hugely welcome announcement of its new fund to address climate-related loss and damage.

These are encouraging milestones, especially considering our two advocacy priorities at Make COP Count:

1. New and additional sources of finance for climate-related loss and damage.
2. An end to all use of public money to subsidise fossil fuels.

These positive steps, however, can only be successful with full transparency, accountability and sustained political will. These essential criteria, in turn, require full access and participation of all the people who need to be part of the proceedings here Glasgow.

At the moment, several delegates and civil society representatives have experienced significant barriers in joining or observing important discussions and negotiations, in person and online. This is especially worrying when it is the voices of Indigenous peoples, women, representatives from Global South nations, and environmental and human rights defenders which get excluded. Their perspectives are crucial to iron out the details and the all-important how we are to achieve these big ambitions.

Here are some things you can do in solidarity and support:

If you’re in Glasgow or London, join the Global Day of Action this Saturday, 6 November.
Join a special update on Tuesday, 9 November, from my colleagues from GreenFaith International – Rev. Neddy Astudillo, Nana Firman and Meryne Warah – who are here in Glasgow in person and have been following different discussions as women of faith from the Global South.
Hold in your hearts – in prayer or reflection – those whose experiences, insights and expertise need to be heard the most at this COP26. Feel free to adapt this prayer/reflection that we’ve been sharing at the beginning of every event organised by Faith for the Climate and Make COP Count:

We begin with a moment of silence.

We hold in our hearts those most vulnerable to the climate crisis, who stand to bear the greatest impacts of decisions taken at COP26, but who have experienced and continue to experience the biggest hurdles to participate safely Glasgow and to make it safely back home.

We hold in our hearts those affected by disproportionate travel restrictions, visa complications, quarantine requirements, lack of affordable accommodation, and health and safety concerns.

We hold in our hearts the effects that this will have on the negotiations directly impacting communities and Indigenous Peoples from countries and communities least represented here in Glasgow.

Finally, we hold in our hearts those who have lost their livelihoods, loved ones and lives in their efforts to protect the planet, and those who will lose their lives today.

We hold our conversations in solidarity and interconnectedness.