We need action, not warm words
I was surprised to see on social media that Joe Biden dropped by St Mirren Park during his COP26 visit.
Obviously, this was just a Photoshop situation, but the fake image went viral, putting Paisley on the global map for a moment!
The president apparently did get a Scottish welcome of sorts when his press team briefed that a ‘large naked Scottish man’ was pictured filming President Biden’s motorcade through his living room window.
St Mirren and public nudity aside though, it’s exciting to have the eyes of the world on Scotland right now.
COP26 is one of the most important meetings in human history – and while expectations aren’t high, it has the opportunity to make the kind of worldchanging decisions needed to stop a climate catastrophe.
I had the opportunity to spend some time there this past week, in meetings with delegates from countries in the Global South and indigenous communities across the world. They told me of the devastation already being caused by extreme weather, of the lives lost and damage caused in the societies who haven’t even caused this emergency.
I met with Siméon Sawadogo, Environment Minister of Burkina Faso, who told me that his west African country is already being devastated by climate breakdown.
The UK and other major economies agreed in 2009 that by 2020 they would transfer $100bn a year to developing countries for climate adaptation and mitigation.
Only a quarter of that was provided and lives are being lost in countries like Burkina Faso as a result.
While Boris Johnson makes a big deal of increasing aidfunded ‘green investments’ in the Global South, this pledge only partly reverses the huge cuts his government made to their international aid budget a matter of months ago.
With Brexit trade deals that increase climate emissions and tax cuts for the aviation industry, this UK Government has shown its focus is on giving handouts to Conservative party donors and their pals on the murkier side of global finance.
Since the Greens have entered government here in Scotland, we have doubled our Climate Justice Fund for nations in the Global South, and the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has praised the fact that we are among the first countries to commit funding for loss and damage caused by the climate emergency.
This crisis won’t be solved by warm words at COP or anywhere else. Only bold actions can save our world now.