Climate activist Lavetanalagi Seru has been watching the number of COVID-19 cases rise in the UK ahead of the UN climate conference starting Sunday, and it scares him, even though he’s been vaccinated and he’s only 29 years old.
But the activist for the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network is determined to travel from his home in Fiji to Scotland to draw attention to the plight of island nations that are being hit by climate change.
“It’s a scary time to travel,” he told The Associated Press. “But I’m putting my health at risk to make sure the Pacific Island states are heard.”
Despite the concerns of some of the delegates from around the world, the British government decided to hold an in-person conference, arguing that world leaders must act now to prevent catastrophic global warming, and that they will be more effective if they can speak up – deal. The meeting was originally scheduled for last year, but was postponed due to the pandemic.
The government insists it can now be done safely, saying it had worked “tirelessly” to ensure an inclusive, accessible and safe summit in Glasgow “with a comprehensive set of COVID mitigation measures.”
“COP26 has already been postponed a year,” Alok Sharma, chair-designate of the conference known as COP26, said last month. “And we are all well aware that climate change has not taken time off.”
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But a coalition of environmental and community groups called in September for the conference to be postponed again amid concerns that many of those hardest hit by global warming would not be able to attend due to the continuing threat of COVID-19. Those fears have been intensified by an increase in infections in the UK, where the daily average of new confirmed cases has risen more than 50% since mid-September.
Activists also complain that organizers have not yet done enough to ensure broad participation. Documents detailing the paperwork needed to attend came late for some who needed to travel long distances and at great cost, among other problems.
Failure to cut red tape has made it difficult for civil society activists to obtain the visas they need to travel. Seru, for example, is still waiting for hers.
Additionally, while vaccines were promised for delegates, activists argued that the rollout was too slow, highlighting broader issues of vaccine inequity that largely blame wealthy nations, including the US, Britain, and the United States. European Union, which have stockpiled vaccines for their own countries. the citizens.
“As one of the millions of unvaccinated Africans, the idea of traveling to Scotland, where cases have recently increased, is terrifying,” wrote Mohamed Adow, director of the Power Shift Africa climate and energy think tank, on September 14 in an opinion. piece for The Guardian. “The frustrating thing is, it didn’t have to be this way.”
As COVID cases rise, some activists fear the climate talks. # COP26 #UK # COVID19
He accused rich countries of stockpiling vaccines and blamed their inability to waive certain intellectual property rights on injections that could allow more countries, particularly the poorest, to produce doses of COVID-19.
While some nongovernmental organizations have called the exemptions vital and the United States has embraced the idea, some experts doubt that the exemptions for highly complex injections would boost production. But many agree that richer countries have failed to deliver on their promises to share vaccines widely, even when they approve booster shots for their own citizens.
The next meeting in Scotland comes after an international panel of climate scientists issued a stern warning to world leaders in August, saying that time was running out to meet the goal of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees. Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) and avoid catastrophic weather. change. COP26 is seen as a critical moment in the campaign to persuade governments, industry and investors around the world to make ambitious commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Waiting another year may delay action beyond the point of no return, said Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment at the London School of Economics. Being in the same room is important to getting a deal.
“Despite the risks of being together in Glasgow, it is justified given the dangerous climate change situation,” he said. “If we mess up on climate change, not only will the negotiators be in trouble, it will be all of us. The whole world: our children, our grandchildren, future generations. It’s that terrible. “
Gurch Randhawa, professor of diversity and public health at the University of Bedfordshire, said the conference, like any other gathering, can be held safely as long as COVID-19 safety measures such as social distancing, social distancing, adequate ventilation and masks. But those rules should apply to everyone, unlike in Britain’s House of Commons, where staff members and journalists are required to wear masks but lawmakers are not, he said.
In reality, the conference may provide an opportunity for world leaders to demonstrate the need to control the virus through ongoing security measures, Randhawa said.
“It’s a great idea if there are public protection measures in place and we use them as an opportunity to show global leadership to the audience that is watching,” he said. “If we are not going to implement public protection measures, it is a very bad idea because not only will it be a COVID risk for the people who attended, but it will also mean that the entire global audience that is watching will potentially lose confidence in the protection measures. that exist in most of the world. “
Meanwhile, Seru still hopes his long-promised visa will arrive soon. You already missed a very expensive flight, but you will get another one. He may be late, but he’s determined to get there.
“For the Pacific, this is a matter of life and death,” he said. “This is why we are fighting so hard.”
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com