COP26 & Election Week
Hi, all.
We’re finally here!
And by here, I mean we’ve made it to the week of the COP26 in Glasgow. (I unfortunately do not mean that the much-talked about spending package has been passed, but it is looking hopeful that it will pass, albeit with severely reduced climate policies.)
COP26 is a meeting for global leaders to get together to talk about climate change, and is organized under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 2015, COP21 produced what we now know as the Paris Agreement, and many are hoping for this COP to be a similarly big moment, but with greater goals that will keep the Earth from spinning into climate catastrophe.
At the same time, however, many within the climate movement are skeptical that anything truly meaningful will come out of this meeting. This skepticism is very understandable given the fact that the only country to meet its own goals outlined in the Paris Agreement was Gambia. Nevertheless, as Molly Taft writes in Earther, we still need to give COP26 the time of day because “pessimism [or complete cynicism, I would argue] is something we simply cannot afford.” Read her full article here: “I Need You to Care About the UN Climate Talks.”
Take part in the COP26 Global Day of Action on Nov 6!
Keep yourself updated on the happenings of COP26 with Bill McKibben’s newsletter The Crucial Years, The Guardian’s COP26 hub, Twitter, your favorite news outlet, or all of the above!
The other big thing happening this week across the US is Election Day on Nov 2! While this is what is typically considered an “off-cycle year,” that doesn’t mean that these elections are unimportant. In fact, one could argue with the gridlock that often happens within our national political scene, electing climate-conscious candidates to local and state positions is even more important.
So, if you haven’t yet, get out there and vote!