A pedestrian’s view.
Overwhelmed, anxious, apathetic and optimistic. These are the emotions that engulfed me during the 3-days I spent at COP26 in Glasgow as a relative bystander with a coveted ticket to the ‘blue zone.’
- Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I am here. This is HUGE! How do I take it all in? What is my role?
- Climate is a frighteningly huge issue. I feel it so poignantly that there should be nothing except this topic at hand right now; we are burning up and it is scary!
- How can this be so far behind? Anyone mentioning 7% to goal should be fired!
- Wow, incredibly difficult areas to solve. More motion ahead than ever before including increasing public backing and private sector support. There is momentum. It is incredibly difficult; I cannot fathom the details behind the solutions. But, especially compared to years past, we are really moving forward this year!
Event Logistics
COP26 is logistically large enough to give one seriously sore feet walking end-to-end, but it is still not nearly as big as it looks on media. Past the lengthy logistics to get inside, there are 3 rather distinct, connected zones. The most noticeable is where each country has a booth (I’m told this is new), which also includes added interest groups such as Indigenous tribes, Forests and topics such as Methane. About 70 booths in total. Each booth has a section dedicated to topical presentations and meetings. These meetings are what it is really all about; though video screens and booth set-up provide that ‘marketing feel’ for those walking casually by.
The second zone is the Action Zone where COP-level presentations are held: two closed rooms and 1 open hub. These run simultaneously from 10am to 8pm with topics aligned to the day’s theme such as “Oceans” or “Youth.” Presenters range from UN representatives to national leaders to individual activists. They are smaller topics, not the invite-only presentations highlighted by the media. These are available online to the public; in fact, due to very limited seating for COVID social distancing, many standing in the queue were encouraged to watch streaming online outside the meeting room (just like you could at home.) So, I caught up on many topics outside the conference walls too.
The largest space by far, however, is dedicated to meetings. COP is an event full of hard-working attendees, logging long hours during this annual, 2-week opportunity to be face-to-face with colleagues from around the world. I heard a rumor that many negotiators sleep onsite, as meetings often run late into the night. And I believe it.
Rather unglamorously, in between the zones are the media spaces where Heads of State present. Literally built as temporary structures connected to permanent buildings in Glasgow, they are simply set to deliver the messages you see via major newscasters in the opening days.
COVID Protocols and Sustainable Event Practices
As a planner of many events, I was interested to see how COP26 pulled off a particularly challenging set of expectations and requirements. First of all, kudos to the organizers for adhesion to sanitary protocol. Dettol was everywhere. To keep a population safe that traveled from all corners of the Earth, each attendee was required to present double vaccination to receive a pass. Then, daily rapid/lateral COVID tests were inspected at entry; these were provided free of charge by the NHS, administered either onsite or personally. Lastly, every attendee had to wear a mask (provided) and they did. It was very rare to see a mask at half-mast, if that gives any indication to conscientiousness of those in attendance. In fact, I heard it referred to as the “conference of nice people” which I can happily concur.
Given that conferences are not traditionally known to be eco-friendly activities, I found it particularly interesting to see firsthand how the largest sustainability conference in the world adhered to eco-friendly logistics. This is detailed formally on the COP Website regarding sustainability. In my search for gaffs, I was suspicious about some booth construction, though they were generally simple with some even built from raw lumber and cardboard (assume to be recycled or re-used later.) However, the larger solutions existed clearly in the form of renewable energy, free public transport passes, and reusable recycled cups. Next year, COP‘s challenge will be perfecting the smaller details, such as sustainable materials for lanyard strings, badges and masks. For an event this size though, especially one not originally planned to be in-person, the most impactful areas seemed covered.
This is not a marketing conference.
Perhaps it’s obvious, but after decades of attending industry conferences, I can confirm that COP26 has a distinctly different culture. It is serious. There are no musical entertainment breaks, not a single bagpipe. Most attendees are in back-to-back meetings, not even attending the presentations. The bar and restaurant are not loud nor full, but only used as a brief meeting point for colleagues between sessions. More commonly seen are stacks of blue reusable cups and sandwich remnants, due to attendees’ meetings running straight through mealtimes.
From entering the conference, to being onsite between presentations, to walking Glasgow streets at night, I rarely heard laughter, just people discussing the serious topics at hand. The conference is full of desks and meeting rooms with attendees spending long hours to make an impact. They have left their families and at-home comforts to be here, and the severity of the tasks at hand permeates the event’s dynamic.
Why was I there?
Qlik, the company I work for, has a 7-year partnership with the United Nations providing our analytic software solutions to enable their organizations to understand and make decisions from their bucket loads of data points. The Qlik sustainability team, which I support any chance I get, was onsite at COP26 writing a new app for UNFCCC. This is a terribly interesting, impactful project …and I’ll share it here once it is signed off to be publicly available. It was a 9am – 9pm six days/week task, yet they left the building still full of people working even later at night.
Qlik VP Sustainability also presented in the Action Hub Data-Driven Tools for Meaningful Climate Solutions. Projects like this need a bigger voice. And that was why I attended a couple (long) days; to learn everything I could, in order to proceed in communicating data -led sustainability projects in an authentic way.
My Takeaways
I’m thankful for my “COP veteran” friends and colleagues and their help in navigating the enormity of the event’s information and emotions. Because of them, I appreciate the evolution and achievements made since the Paris Agreement, and I relate to what is moving too slow, as well as the impact of this week’s COP26 achievements in comparison. It is also clear that the involvement of private sector to provide the technology for change, alongside the policy makers to align globally, is needed to tackle all the areas required to limit global warming.
For each of us, it is realistic to be anxious about the severity of climate change. It’s also easy to be concerned and complain ‘from our warm homes’ about government and policymakers’ progress to date. There is a definite gap in where we need to be, however no one is a bystander this issue. We each have the power to make a change, starting with actions today.
My key takeaway is this: Our concern and stress should be the fuel to our transformation. “But if I do something, will it really make a difference?” YES! What we each do, collectively will make a difference. Embrace the challenge to accelerate the change yourself by making one considered decision each day, starting today!
As an aside, my favorite plan discussed repeatedly at COP was 30 by 30. This refers to setting aside 30% of water/oceans and 30% of land for conservation. As a result, nature thrives and thereby helps us reach our climate solution. Despite there being billions of us, it does seem reasonable to only use 70% of the Earth’s land and water and leave the rest alone (actually, 30% doesn’t seem overly philanthropic.) Realizing solutions are complex, I’d like to think we can lower our needs just enough to reserve 30% to nature. I’m pondering next steps now.
Fun Facts
- COP is the abbreviation for ‘Conference of the Parties’ to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).
- COP26 website is full of all current activities …and a fascinating opportunity to spend hours digging into the presentations and latest results.
- #TogetherForOurPlanet is the event’s hashtag on Twitter
- Best Launch Video “Don’t Choose Extinction” launched at COP launch by UN Development Programme tackling fossil fuel subsidies.
- Blue Zone: This pass provides access to the main conference outside the actual UN offices.
- Green Zone: This area is open free to the public and includes large booths created by event sponsors, a history and background of COP and rotating private-sector climate-focused exhibits. In Glasgow, it is located at the Science Center and has the family ‘teaching vibe’ of a public science center. It is a free bus ride from the blue zone.
- Protesters: Loud but peaceful, it looked a lot larger on TV. I only witnessed a couple of people with either a megaphone or signs, using the opportunity to highlight their point of view in the public park or COP entrance. Nothing unsettling.
- COP26 Sponsors & Partners include Cisco, GSK, Unilever, SSE, Sky, Scottish Power, NatWest Group, Hitachi, Microsoft, IKEA, BCG, Bloomberg, Jaguar, Salesforce, Reckitt, Google, Sainsbury’s, National Grid and NatWest Group.
- COP27 is scheduled for 7-18 November 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
And finally, regarding the COP26 outcomes, I’m watching the accredited media channels same as you.