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Thunberg Sets Slogan for COP26 in Scotland’s City of Protest

Thunberg Sets Slogan for COP26 in Scotland’s City of Protest

Thunberg Sets Slogan for COP26 in Scotland’s City of Protest
A climate activist shouts slogans into a megaphone during a protest march on the "Youth Day" at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, U.K., on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Photographer: Jonne Roriz/Bloomberg)

Promises were made and others blurred, but world leaders hailed progress at the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow this week. Inevitably, the mood outside on the streets was more skeptical.

After the political grandees departed from Scotland’s biggest city, the focus at COP26 turned to protesters demanding the kind of action they probably knew they were never going to get. Police expect as many as 100,000 people will gather in Glasgow on Saturday following a march and rally led by youth activists on Friday that served as a party-like prelude.

Thunberg Sets Slogan for COP26 in Scotland’s City of Protest

In the city’s central George Square, the theater for many a protest over the decades, children, youths, parents and grandparents made their mark on the conference on Friday. Placards ranged from “There’s no planet B” and “Why don’t you care?” to the more humorous “Looking 4 a hot lover not a hot planet.” One slogan resonated most: an end to what activist-in-chief Greta Thunberg called “blah blah blah.”

COP26 organizers may have been hoping their own messages would cut through more. Indeed, there has been some progress so far in the conference, which runs until Nov. 12. That includes deals on phasing out methane and fossil-fuel funding. There was also a promise by 100 countries to stop deforestation. But a tough second week ensues.

Thunberg Sets Slogan for COP26 in Scotland’s City of Protest

For Ross Tatham, who was on the march on Friday, the legacy of Glasgow will come from the “ground up” rather than the pledges from leaders. “One thing is certain and it’s that the main event makes little difference,” said Tatham, 24, a physics graduate from Bristol who had come to volunteer at a community hub. “There’s no accountability for states to follow up on what they’re saying. Civic society has been shut out.”

Reports of public worker strikes during COP26, overflowing refuse bins and a rat infestation cast a cloud over the host city. Yet for protesters that just added to the image of Scotland’s gritty former industrial heartland and its track record in defying the established order.

Thunberg Sets Slogan for COP26 in Scotland’s City of Protest

A century ago, a movement nicknamed Red Clydeside led a political protest that prompted the British government to send in tanks to quell what it thought might turn into a socialist revolution. On the Clyde river a short walk from the central shopping area, there’s a statue of communist Spanish Civil War leader Dolores Ibarruri.  

More recently, Glasgow voted for Scottish independence in a referendum in 2014 when the country overall chose to remain in the U.K. by 55% to 45%. The Scottish National Party-led government is pushing for another vote.

Thunberg Sets Slogan for COP26 in Scotland’s City of Protest

Ruth Ewan, 40, was persuaded to come to the event by her eight-year-old daughter, who has been learning at school in Glasgow about climate change and Thunberg’s campaign. She said more people are getting engaged and her home city is the place to demonstrate that.

“Glasgow is a city of protest,” said Ewan, whose wolfhound dog wore a placard made by her daughter saying “paws climate change 4 good.” “It has a rich history of children being involved in politics too.”  

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.