Climate protesters fight hard at the start of COP26
International leaders joined host and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Glasgow this week for the COP26 Climate Change Conference to take into account the global community’s commitments to climate action and Paris Agreement on climate change.
Protesters, as usual, joined in discussions outside the summit representing a number of organizations, including Glasgow-based climate activists, global networks like Oxfam and Extinction Rebellion, and young activists from Fridays of the future.
United Nations (in dinosaur form) calls on leaders to tackle climate change
Early protest actions ranged from public marches to detailed art installations, such as Ocean rebellionThe rolling fishing boat that dumped garbage (including protesters disguised as undead) outside the COP26 venue. Young activists marched along the River Clyde and gathered at Glasgow’s Festival Park, while other protesters marched through the underground and stood outside JP Morgan Offices in town, demanding that the bank stop investing in the fossil fuel industry.
“Failure is not an option. Failure is a death sentence.”
Inside the summit, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres address world leaders on the first day of the 26th annual conference and seemed to agree with what many protesters have long said: Current commitments are not enough to reverse the climate crisis and leaders need to be more honest about it.
“The recent announcements of climate action could make it look like we are on the right track to change things. It is an illusion,” said Guterres. “So as we open this long-awaited climate conference, we are still heading towards climate catastrophe. Young people know it. Every country sees it. Small island developing states – and other vulnerable countries – are experiencing it. For them, failure is not an option. Failure is a death sentence.
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Expect to see even more public facilities like the ones below. COP26 meetings continue until November 12.
Environmental group Ocean Rebellion features a fishing boat collecting trash and undead outside of COP26 meetings in Glasgow, Scotland.
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Oxfam protesters dress up as US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson “blowing hot air” outside Glasgow’s Modern Art Gallery.
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International leaders, played by members of the Glasgow Climate Action Team, take part in a climate-themed squid game.
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Young climate activists from Fridays for Future hold up banners demanding climate action at Festival Park in Glasgow.
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Climate activists Vanessa Nakate and Greta Thunberg join a group of protesters.
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Activists from Extinction Rebellion’s red rebel brigade marched through metro stations and stood outside COP26 meetings, issuing a red climate alert.
Credit: Andrew Milligan / PA Images via Getty Images
A protester in a chicken costume walks past the summit.
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Kenyan climate activist Eric Ngunga addresses a crowd near the River Clyde in Glasgow.
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Activists disguised as oil slicks demonstrate in front of the Grangemouth oil refinery in Glasgow.
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Protesters from Extinction Rebellion keep watch on JP Morgan’s offices.
Credit: Peter Summers / Getty Images
Photos of French President Emmanuel Macron hung upside down in front of the COP26 venue.
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A protester carries a sign outside JP Morgan’s office in Glasgow.
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Members of Extinction Rebellion escorted an international group that took part in a 500 mile pilgrimage from London to Glasgow.
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Ocean Rebellion activists have projected an image of Prime Minister Boris Johnson outside the Grangemouth oil refinery.
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