Cop out
Issue 76 - 2 November 2021 (3-min read)
We are taking a break from our regular newsletter this week to continue our coverage of the COP26 climate summit taking place this week in Glasgow, Scotland.
Your news headlines and bulletins may focus on Biden scolding Russia and China, even if most of them missed out an important name he slipped into his tirade: Saudi Arabia. Or they will amplify the hollow speeches and numbers thrown around by political and corporate leaders, even if they know this is just big talk.
What’s happening at COP26 these days can only be described as 'lukewarm' at best. It is no surprise that climate activist Greta Thunberg is telling those sitting inside those giant halls that "you can shove your climate crisis up your arse."
But there are hundreds of people who went to Glasgow to plead the case for their existence. In our issue today, we try to raise their voices because, even if the Bidens, the Bezos, the Jinpings, the Modis, the Putins and the likes are still oblivious to the climate catastrophe upon us, these voices are telling us just how grave it is.
We hope you find the resources we have curated for you helpful and it helps you understand that climate change may impact us in many different ways but it threatens the future of humanity all the same.
Until next week, take care and stay safe!
Hira & Philippe
The Global Tiller team
Voices that matter
The president of Palau has told the Cop26 summit that parallels could be drawn between the climate crisis and the traditional Palau story of a boy who grew into a giant and 'wouldn’t stop growing ... depleting all the natural resources'. Surangel Whipps Jr said the story was 'eerily reminiscent' of today’s climate crisis. Speaking about the environmental impact on island nations, he added: 'There is no dignity to a slow and painful death: you might as well bomb our islands.'
Nisreen Elsaim of Sudan, UN Secretary General's Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, speaks for 47% of the world's population (15-29 year olds). She says that world leaders are obligated to listen to people her age.
The prime minister of Barbados says we should learn from the pandemic that global problems cannot be solved by national solutions and calls out the summit for failing to address the gaps in mitigation, finance. "The failure of highly industrialised countries to finance the climate fight in small island nations is, according to her, paid for by lives and livelihoods in these communities.
Samoan climate justice activist Brianna Fruean says that world leaders at COP26 are on track to sentencing the Pacific Islands to extinction. She warns that “even though we’re the ones who will be experiencing that first, we won’t be the ones experiencing it last.”
As the COP26 climate conference begins, here's a look at what life is like in one of the hottest cities on earth. The residents of Jacobabad, Pakistan, suffered their worst summer yet: 50ºC.
India’s coal habit proves hard to kick despite pressure to set climate targets. Soaring energy demands in the country of 1.4 billion leave little room to phase out its dependence on the fossil fuel.
Do not trust Brazil’s ‘greenwashing’ promises, say Amazon activists. Campaigners warn Brazil may make empty promises at Cop26 to gain access to conservation money.
Take a step back
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