At 11 o’clock, scenes of a beautiful and desperate panic to save the world.

On November 1, 25,000 people gather in Glasgow, Scotland, with leaders from 120 countries to spend 14 days trying to figure out how to bring the world to climate safety. Here are scenes from what we can think of as a last-ditch effort to save the world from an overheated future.

Many people are faced with a big task and their arrival presents complicated logistics for a small country to handle. This is evident in how difficult it can be to figure out what is happening, when and where. It also means that the United Nations must control the number of people in a room. This means exclusion and disappointment for some and a sense of luck for others.

To pass the turnstiles and enter the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) where COP26 is taking place, the UN requires everyone to show proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival (that’s the which is on the nose), and a side test taken. every morning. That requires dedicated web pages and an infrastructure of security people checking results on mobile phones as delegates, observers and journalists line up to enter the SEC. In the wake of the pandemic, it must have been an overwhelming organizational challenge.

Throughout the week, the demands for faster action and equity come from the youth on the streets and the promises of ministers and world leaders echo in the halls. The SEC security staff are incredibly polite and warm and seem eager to make everyone feel welcome.

Celebrities walk the aisles and appear at parties and events. Some of them are the rock stars of the fight against climate change, people who have been fighting in the trenches for decades and are in awe of ‘how far things have come’. They include environmental activists like Bill McKibben and Tzeporah Berman and celebrities like Prince Charles, Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Gore. But a speech by former US President Barack Obama draws the biggest crowds (most of them can’t get in) and the most excitement.

Only Greta Thunberg beats him in terms of how excited people seem to catch a glimpse of her.

Within COP, the days are long. Time lengthens as people come and go. They are all trying to cope with climate change as they adjust to the crowds after 18 months of confinement, when they may have only seen their families and a few friends. Everyone talks about the joy of being with people again. It’s like waking up after a long sleep and enjoying a particularly beautiful morning.

In George Square, near the Queens Street train station, protesters denounce the repression of the Bangladeshi government. Others put pamphlets in their hands demanding that the Chinese government stop persecuting Falun Gong. The New York Times give away free newspaper sections wrapped in eye-catching clean energy ads.

World leaders look a lot like activists, but are we to believe them?

“We can phase out the use of hydrocarbon internal combustion engine cars, by 2035, we can do it and we in the UK are wrapping up new sales by 2030,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“If we fail, they will not forgive us. They will know that Glasgow was the historic turning point when history did not change. They will judge us with bitterness and with a resentment that outshines any of today’s climate activists, and they will be Right.”

“For many developing countries, climate change is a huge crisis looming before them, one that threatens their very existence,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making a bold pledge to triple renewable energy use in his country by 2030 and reach net zero by 2070.

Even Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who brought a lump of coal to Parliament in 2017 to extol its virtues, spoke about the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy.

“Australia is investing more than $ 20 billion over the next decade to drive the transition, leveraging private sector investment to reach $ 80 billion in total,” he said, noting that Australia has the highest rates of solar energy. on rooftops of the world.

Some dismiss all of this as “green public relations.” Others find it hopeful.

It is the President of Barbados, Mia Mottley, who delivers what could be the most powerful and important speech at COP26.

“We don’t want that dreaded death sentence, and today we came here to say, ‘Try harder. Work harder’.

“For those who have eyes to see, for those who have ears to hear, and for those who have hearts to feel, 1.5 (degrees) is what we need to survive.”

So it is quite possible that you feel that you are meeting good and well-intentioned people, but you are not sure that it is these people who can stop the race to destruction.