World News: Protesters Slam COP26 Summit as 'Business as Usual'

 

"GLASGOW -- Organizers of the COP26 United Nations climate summit welcomed one of their highest-profile critics Friday: Greta Thunberg.

Ms. Thunberg headlined an hourslong protest march and rally in Glasgow. Thousands of mostly young demonstrators marched from Kelvingrove Park to the city center. Organizers estimated the protest drew 25,000 people.

COP26 officials have called Friday the "Youth and Public Empowerment" day, clearing out much of the technical briefings and news conferences that have filled most of the summit so far. That has provided another global platform for Ms. Thunberg and a handful of other high-profile climate activists, who supporters say have used their youth and social-media savvy to help broaden support for action.

Ms. Thunberg shot to fame three years ago as a schoolgirl who cut classes to protest what she said was inaction on climate change. She moved on to bluntly dress down world leaders. More recently, she has taken aim at the U.N. climate summit process itself, accusing it of being a talking shop with few concrete accomplishments to show for itself.

On the eve of Friday's rally, Ms. Thunberg, now 18 years old, called the summit "a two week celebration of business as usual and blah blah blah" on Twitter.

"Blah, blah, blah is completely true, that is what world leaders do," said Amanda Randall, a 59-year-old artist who traveled from England to the protest march.

Many diplomats say they are making steady progress on many fronts in trying to reach deals that would lower global emissions to levels scientists hope will curb global warming. Critics say progress so far is incremental.

The U.K., the summit's host country, said it welcomes the dialogue with demonstrators.

"The U.K. is committed to hosting an inclusive COP. Ensuring that the voices of those most affected by climate change are heard is a priority," a spokeswoman for the event said.

While not part of any formal talks at the summit, Ms. Thunberg has sometimes stolen the show from world leaders, diplomats and technocrats.

Ahead of Friday's rally, she triggered an online debate about her increasingly salty language. She was asked on Twitter if she would commit to "net-zero" bad language, echoing climate-talk jargon for how countries account for their carbon emissions.

She answered with the sort of time frame most big countries have given for when they will get net carbon emissions to zero. 

The U.S. for example has promised to get to net-zero emissions by 2050 and reduce them by 50%-52% by 2030. Ms. Thunberg vowed to stop swearing "by 2052 with a 39, 78% reduction by 2034."

The evolution in her public persona continues to resonate with young activists who have energized the push for action on climate in recent years, according to Richard Black, a research fellow at the Grantham Institute, which studies climate change. Now "she is becoming more direct in the way she speaks," he said.

Daisy Earl, 19, came by train from Leeds. She says she is fed up by what she calls greenwashing. "It's all talk, no action, they keep making pledges but don't do anything," she said.

While Ms. Thunberg's status and influence have grown, she continues to operate largely independent of any official support infrastructure, according to people who have worked with her. She relies on a loose web of fellow activists, nongovernment agencies and scientists to help pro-bono to inform and organize her campaign.

The Fridays For Future movement she founded isn't a legal entity and depends on local volunteers to run their own campaigns in different countries. Ms. Thunberg sometimes gets logistical help from environmental groups. Members of the Global Strategic Communications Council, a network of communications professionals, help with media work." [1]

1. World News: Protesters Slam COP26 Summit as 'Business as Usual'
Colchester, Max; Sha Hua.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 06 Nov 2021: A.8.