In this follow-up to LINGAP-Canada's earlier post on the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow some alternative views on COP26 will be helpful in motivating critical thinking on climate change and proposed strategies for climate action.
The Canadian Government has pledged various actions to fight climate change https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/canada-joins-over-40-countries-at-final-formal-multilateral-opportunity-to-prepare-for-cop26-828050211.html
In contrast, a report of Climate Action Tracker rates Canada's climate target, policies and finance as 'Highly Insufficient' but if the 2021 budget plans are fully implemented, then the rating will be 'Almost Sufficient'. https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/canada/
A study by Prof. Wilfrid Greaves, University of Victoria, concluded that "the government pursuit of policies that knowingly contribute to climate change worsens conditions of present and future insecurity...". https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0020702011019325
The Philippines presented its "newly launched Sustainable Finance Roadmap... as a model for other emerging economies to incorporate climate and environmental factors in mobilizing funds to build a sustainable and resilient economy". https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1158567.
However, alternative views and campaigns have also shown much concern among sectors of Philippine society about official development policies and programs that impact on climate change. For example, Filipino youth have called for systemic change at climate protest. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/sep/24/philippines-youth-call-for-systemic-change-at-climate-protest
Other climate actions include:
Triumph for PH fight for Climate Justice: Coal Projects in PH Pipeline, Derailed Philippine Movement for Global Justice. https://climatejustice.ph/latest-events/coal-projects-derailed-07-07-2021
Beside the official COP26 summit, thousands of people have also gathered to express their demands for urgent climate change action and climate justice. For example, the COP26 Coalition is a UK-based civil society coalition of groups and individuals mobilising around climate justice during COP26, including environment and development NGOs, trade unions, grassroots community campaigns, faith groups, youth groups, migrant and racial justice networks. https://cop26coalition.org/about/the-coalition/
Youth activists, including Greta Thunberg (Sweden), Vanessa Nakate (Uganda), Dominika Laso (Poland) and Mitzi Tan (Philippines), in a pre-COP26 open letter, urged the world's leaders to make "immediate, drastic, annual emission reductions" to attain the 1.5 degree C goal... https://news.sky.com/story/greta-thunberg-youth-activist-demands-cop26-world-leaders-face-up-to-climate-emergency-12457204
On Nov 6 & 7, youth-led marches held in Glasgow to loudly protest inaction by governments and other agencies and organizations. Greta Thunberg viewed the Summit as a "failure", "PR event" and "global north greenwashing festival".
At the opening ceremony, the UN Secretary-General said: "It's time to say, 'enough'. Enough of brutalizing biodiversity. Enough of killing ourselves with carbon. Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves. We need maximum ambition from all countries on all fronts to make Glasgow a success".
The enormous question and challenge is, can or how will such "ambition" translate fully into authentic action?
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