I want my kids to know I took to the streets and demanded change
Dad joins protests
Activists from across Renfrewshire have been taking part in widespread protests at COP26.
Extinction Rebellion, together with other environmental groups, held a protest in Glasgow against greenwashing.
They accused COP26 sponsors, like Google and the National Grid, of claiming to be environmentally friendly while continuing to pollute the planet, a process called greenwashing.
Michael Carr, 59, a management consultant from Bridge of Weir, attended the march alongside hundreds of others, including many from Renfrewshire.
He said: “I supported Extinction Rebellion to raise the profile of greenwashing.
“It is vital that the public are aware many companies pretend to take action to tackle climate change while they are still massive polluters and have no plans to become carbon neutral.
“This matters to me because I want my children to know that I didn’t just sit at home and watch the news, but I took to the streets and demanded change.”
Fellow Extinction Rebellion activist Helen Smith, 34, said:
“I’m so tired of the number of companies profiting from a disingenuous perception of themselves as ‘ethical’ or ‘green’ when the reality is totally the opposite.
“It makes us all sceptical of genuine green claims at a time when this action is more important than ever.”
Extinction Rebellion said the claim in 2007 by Google that it was carbon neutral is false as it has emitted 20 million tons of carbon since then.
Meanwhile, the National Grid has said it aims for net-zero by 2050, at the same time as its oil and gas facilities spew out greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the summit.
COP1 was set up by the UN to deal with climate change in 1995. Since then, there have been 25 meetings. After nearly 40 years of warnings and 30 years of international climate negotiations, carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels have increased by over 50 per cent since 1990.
COP26 is taking place in Glasgow until November 13. So far, more than 200 world leaders have promised to tackle deforestation and cut methane gases. However, China, Russia and India, who emit the most methane gas, haven’t signed up.
A total of 450 organisations which control $130trillion dollars have agreed to back ‘clean’ technology, like renewable energy.
More than 40 countries have also agreed to shift away from coal, the single biggest contributor to climate change. However, countries which are dependent on coal, like Australia,
India, China and the
US, haven’t signed
up.