P I CT URE JOHA NNES PL ENI O E ZU YEV / U NSPL A SH
THE CLIMATE CRISIS This year’s UN Conference of the Parties (Cop26) takes place at one of the most consequential moments in human history writes Kumi Naidoo
KUMI NAIDOO has been the global head of Greenpeace and Amnesty International. He is now a global ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity and runs a well-known series of podcasts titled Power, People and Planet
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WHAT WE do in the next 10 years will determine humanity’s future – or whether we will have a future at all. Having participated in several climate negotiations, I think it’s important not to put all our eggs in the Glasgow Cop basket. We will almost certainly be disappointed by the gulf between what governments agree and what actually is required. Climate activist Farhana Yamin outlined what is required in her article “A Manifesto for Justice for Cop 26 and Beyond”, when she said, “Glasgow needs to give a boost to global solidarity and the build back better and climate justice agendas. It can do so by correcting power imbalances and putting justice and fairness at the heart of this and all future Cop negotiations.” In the lead-up to the Paris climate negotiations, when I was with Greenpeace, along with other campaigning organisations, we made a conscious decision to talk about “The Road Through Paris”, rather than “The Road to Paris”. Even though we knew we needed to do everything in our power to secure the best possible outcome from that
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