🌱The Grumpy Optimists #32
The lead up to COP26 - campaigns, government drama and our final top tip, engaging the people around you.
Happy Monday folks,
We hope you had a great week. Just in case you missed it, we released a longer piece on Thursday about Husk Power Systems and mini-grids which you can check out here...
It's not long to go until the UK hosts the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow! Lots of people are gearing up ahead of the conference, with campaigns putting pressure on governments to make ambitious commitments to climate action and make these decisions more inclusive. This is the most significant climate conference since COP21 in Paris back in 2015, where the agreement was signed to keep global warming below 1.5C. This week, we've pulled together some COP26 related news pieces, along with a really interesting podcast to check out. But before we get on to some of the usual features, it's worth flagging some other really interesting COP26 related stuff which you might not see covered in the news media.👇
If you haven't already heard of it, the Instagram page Earthrise does a cracking job of filling up your feeds with optimism about climate justice and the environment. Jack Harries - a well-known climate activist and the mastermind behind Earthrise - is on his way to COP26 using only sustainable transport. Along his journey, he's collecting stories of people both affected by climate change, and coming up with solutions. He’ll present these stories to world leaders at the conference. Check out this trailer.
One of the prominent issues with world summits such as COP26 is that there aren't enough women with a seat at the table. She Changes Climate is working to tackle this. They are campaigning for a #5050Vision - a 50:50 balance of women and men at the top level of the COP26 leadership team, calling on Alok Sharma, President of COP26, to address gender divisions and form a representative and inclusive leadership team. Why? Because women are change agents, and any decisions made should be inclusive - not just in terms of who is affected but in the decision-makers themselves. You can sign their open letter here. In the lead-up to COP26, they are doing a 26-day countdown showcasing 26 powerful female voices on the importance of #5050Vision. Check out their social media for more:
For now, let's dive into the rest of the newsletter...
👀 Articles to read
🇬🇧 Document leak reveals a rift between UK's Prime Minister and chancellor over costs of zero-carbon economy. This is worrying news with just a couple of weeks to go before the UK hosts COP26 in Glasgow. The documents show the Treasury is warning of serious economic damage to the UK economy and future tax rises if the UK overspends on, or misdirects, green investment. Critics say the Treasury net-zero review only presents the costs of action on emissions rather than the benefits, eg. green jobs and avoiding the effects of climate change.
🗣️ Gen Z on how to save the world: young climate activists speak out. This weekend, The Guardian featured 20 young climate activists from around the world, their stories, and how they got into activism. Check it out to get inspired by the next generation.
🇦🇺 Australian PM to attend COP26 summit after global pressure. Last month, Scott Morrison (Australia's Prime Minister) was criticised after he said that he might skip COP26 in November. Australia is one of the world's top exporters of oil and gas, with the largest emissions per capita, and was recently ranked last out of 170 countries for its climate response. Experts say it needs to commit to a 47% cut by 2030 in order to meet the UN goal of less than 1.5C of global warming.
🇺🇸 There is a chance that the USA's reconciliation bill won't pass. A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about the reconciliation bill (click here to read about this in more detail), which would be the USA's most significant action ever taken on climate change. Well, there is a chance that the bill might not pass because of two senators. Let's hope that they can be persuaded to pass it and take meaningful action.
🎙️ A podcast to check out
What can you do about climate change?
It's the final week of our top tips, and this week we're focusing on how to engage people around you and help spread positive climate action.
🤏 Start small. If there's one thing that scares people off from acting to reduce their environmental impact, it's the fear of radical change. Encouraging slow and steady changes is the best way to bring others along with you - so rather than telling all your friends and family to go vegetarian overnight, ask them whether they'd be keen to start with Meatless Monday. Allowing people to ease in at their own pace often yields stronger, more resilient changes in the long term.
🥰 Do what you're comfortable with. There are loads of ways you can help the planet, and everyone's different. If you don't feel comfortable blocking a junction on the M25, how about reading about how climate change is impacting one of your hobbies or something you're interested in. Or, just give the news a skim and have a chat with a mate to see what their thoughts are on a particular headline or issue. There's no one size fits all, so find what you're comfortable with and start there.
🗣️ Be ready to challenge. There's plenty of fake news and misleading headlines filling our newsfeeds and changing our perceptions about climate change. Next time you find these filtering into a conversation you're having at home or with friends, be ready to challenge fake news where you spot it, and call it out. The best way to keep others on their toes is to be vigilant and vocal where you come across these conversations, so we can collectively deny them the attention they crave. Facts are convincing - use them to your advantage.
😀 Bringing the optimism. We know that climate change is a scary thing, and part of the reason The Grumpy Optimists exists is to remind us all that there is hope. What better way to celebrate this than The Earthshot Prize? This global environmental prize aims to incentivise change and help repair our planet over the next 10 years. The very first awards were held in London last night. Winners include Costa Rica, a leading country that has managed to reverse deforestation and mostly runs on renewable energy, and Coral Vita which restores coral reefs in the Bahamas. Check out the rest of the winners here for inspiration! Could you be one of the future winners?
That's all for this week folks!
Stay optimistic,
George, Ella, and Will 💚