Hello Friends!
In November 2021 Glasgow hosted COP26, the long-awaited UN climate talks. It was a key moment for the climate justice movement and for efforts to limit the global temperature rise this century to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
At Quakers in Britain we spent much of 2020 and 2021 preparing for the summit. During that time we heard from Friends about the vast array of activities they were organising and supporting: pilgrimages, vigils, marches and rallies, banner drops, festivals, educational and interfaith events, and so much more! This fantastic work, alongside that of our partners, has helped to strengthen the UK's climate justice movement.
We've produced this digital report to celebrate Quaker action before and during COP26 and to recognise the successes we've achieved together with the climate justice movement.
- Section 1 captures some of the hugely creative and inspiring action taken by Friends from across Britain before and during COP26.
- Section 2 shares some of the work done by staff at Quakers in Britain on behalf of the Quaker community.
We've included many of the voices, photos and videos of the people who were involved.
1. Quaker action before and during COP26
Thank you so much to everyone who got in touch to tell us about the climate action they were involved in. It's been wonderful to see just how active a part Quakers are playing in building a diverse and creative movement for climate justice. We've shared below some of the photos and stories you sent us.
We all want to say a huge thank you to Glasgow Friends. We’ve had so many messages of appreciation about the welcome and hospitality they offered to everyone who travelled to Glasgow. And we were blown away by their incredibly diverse programme of events.
Polar Pilgrimages
Bearing north: Clarion the polar bear, created by Bamber Hawes from Clun Valley Meeting and accompanied all the way by Kusameh Hewa Omala, covered a staggering 306 miles on its pilgrimage from Shropshire to Glasgow.
We took the bear through Quaker country in the Lake District. Quite a lot of Quakers were with us, and we met loads of people as we came into Penrith. It was a beautiful thing to do – a time to talk among ourselves about what the government is and isn’t doing, what we hope for COP26, and also to talk with the people we met along the way.
[Photo: Suzy Jessel]
Pilgrimages
Friends in Norwich and Bristol organised pilgrimages in the run-up to COP26, and many Friends joined pilgrimages all the way to Glasgow.
Pendle Hill Area Meeting held a special meeting for worship with some Friends joining from Pendle Hill.
[Photo: Pendle Hill / Ben Pink Dandelion]
Speaking truth to power
For the Climate Action Day in Alnwick, Northumberland, Rosemary Hartill interviewed Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, Secretary of State for International Trade.
To highlight the importance of COP26, Friends from Cornwall, Darlington, Hereford and Somerset held vigils in their local communities, including this one outside the constituency office of George Eustice MP in Camborne, Cornwall.
[Photo: Alison Meaton]
Arts for the climate
Ahead of COP26 many Friends joined Stitches for Survival, the Loving Earth Project and took part in Pilgrimage for COP26 from Dunbar to Glasgow. [Photo: Michael Preston]
The Loving Earth Project uses crafting to celebrate the people, planet and creatures we cherish but which are threatened by climate breakdown. The project shows people how to create a textiles panel that reflects on the natural world.
Children's meetings
Friends held children’s meetings to help link climate change with the concept of climate justice. While climate change is firmly in the public consciousness, people are less familiar with climate justice.
This photo shows a banner made by Romford Quakers, and the quote below comes from Friends in Wandsworth.
We started with climate change and talked about the River Thames freezing over, especially 'The Great Frost' of 1683/84, when the ice was 25cm thick. We then talked about today and how nature isn’t responsible for current climate change – man’s behaviour is. We asked what the changes are, what causes them and who is most affected. Is it fair and what can Quakers do about it? Influenced by the Loving Earth Project, we made a paper doll string of round shapes and drew on it what we would want to protect, who we would want to say sorry to, and what we could do. We decided we must start by paying attention to what is happening. We can then build on that by protecting and supporting the people who are most affected by climate change.
[Photo: Romford Quakers]
Inform and inspire
This photo is from Darlington Quakers, who attended their local march and set up an information stall on the high street.
Friends in Evesham worked with their local community to put on a festival for the environment during COP26.
In Sherborne Friends held a stall in the high street for the day of action on 6 November.
[Photo: Martin Wood, Darlington Meeting]
Rallies and days of action
Friends in Birmingham worked with local faith leaders to build a faith community presence at the day of action on 6 November.
Friends in Birmingham and Norwich spoke at their local day of action rallies.
[Photo: Claire Bowman speaking at the Birmingham Day of Action]
Marches and actions
Friends in Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester formed Quaker blocs on the marches in their cities.
Friends from Charlbury, Chesterfield and Southampton gathered to support various groups during the day of action on 6 November, including joining an action outside an Oxford branch of Barclays Bank.
[Photo: Leeds Quakers]
A Friend from Horsham reflected on joining the London climate march:
During our walk to Trafalgar Square I noticed that we were with many different groups, and I found that encouraging. Behind us was a young boy, I would say he was around 8 or 9 years old. He kept shouting three words. He put the effort in, it came out of his toes. We tried to work out what he was shouting. I thought it sounded like "Peace not War!" The reason I thought that was because one of his parents was wearing a white poppy and nearby someone was holding up a placard that read “Nature not Trident". However, a gentleman in front of me turned around, he was wearing an RSPB sweater and said: I am hearing "Bees not Worms!" That made us all laugh, but surely bees and worms are both important? A Quaker friend who was walking beside me decided she was going to get to the bottom of this, so she went and had a chat with the parents. She returned with the definitive answer. The boy was shouting: "Deeds not Words!" I was told that in the past this phrase was used by the Suffragettes. Back home on the train I reflected on this small part of the demonstration, and two things stuck with me. Firstly, the boy was speaking Truth and his plea has been repeated by young people all over the world during COP26 and beyond. Secondly, I observed that we all heard the sound of the same words coming from the same source and yet we heard different things. I wonder if Quakerism is a bit like that too – Deeds not Words.
[Photo: Phil Wood]
Linking war and climate change
At the COP26 Coalition People’s Summit in Glasgow, a Friend from Abingdon ran a session called Challenging the Military Carbon Bootprint event.
The main photo shows another action linking climate change and militarism: Stop War, Stop Climate Chaos took place on Glasgow's Buchanan Street Steps on 4 November and was attended by Quakers.
[Photo: Quakers in Britain]
Houses of worship and welcome
Friends in Westminster and Glasgow opened up their meeting houses as places of welcome and stillness among the activities going on in their cities.
Friends in Glasgow ran an amazing programme of events throughout the COP fortnight.
[Photo: Glasgow Quakers in meeting for worship at the start of the COP period.]
2. Quakers in Britain action before and during COP26
Staff from Quakers in Britain were in Glasgow throughout COP26. We worked both inside and outside the conference on our policy priority: urging governments of wealthy nations to commit to a loss and damage fund for countries already affected by climate change. We also supported Quaker and interfaith action on a range of climate justice issues by organising and joining marches, vigils, actions and events.
[Photo: Olivia Hanks from Quakers in Britain speaking at a panel discussion on faith groups' actions for the climate]
We went to COP26 with four main objectives. We wanted to:
- contribute to the wider movement for climate justice with our strengths and resources
- support Friends to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to take action
- ensure decision-makers hear Quaker calls for climate justice
- support marginalised voices (particularly from the Global South) to be heard at COP26.
We outline below some of our work to meet these aims, as well as some successes we saw.
1. Strengthening the climate justice movement
We offered capacity to the COP26 Coalition through the coordinating committee, as well as logistical support for the London Global Day of Action march and People’s Summit Covid-19 registration in Glasgow. We played a key role in coordinating interfaith action through the Make COP Count group and in the ‘Faith and Belief’ blocs of the London and Glasgow Global Day of Action marches. People of faith took to the streets in their thousands, and our work to embed justice in interfaith climate action could be seen across many of the events, actions and advocacy that took place in Glasgow.
[Photo: Faith leaders march in Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park / Michael Preston]
2. Supporting Quaker action
In early 2021 we released our Taking action for climate justice resource. We then ran a series of online workshops covering the UN climate talks 'essentials' to help Friends engage with COP26 and take action. Together with Woodbrooke, we ran monthly spiritual preparation calls, culminating in a reflection session for Friends to come together to reflect on how it went, share learning and consider what to do next. We also offered some support for actions Friends organised, including the Journey to COP26.
[Photo: Olivia Hanks from Quakers in Britain (left) with Lindsey Fielder Cook from QUNO at Glasgow Meeting House / Michael Preston]
3. Amplifying Quaker voices
We saw real progress on our priority climate justice policy of loss and damage financing, which was widely picked up by faith groups and others. Alongside faith, civil society and international partners, we pushed the UK Presidency to include loss and damage on the agenda for COP26. Our advocacy helped ensure the issue was added to the COP26 UK Presidency Programme. A clear message has been sent to the UK government that it cannot ignore this issue any longer, and many questions are now being asked in parliament about how the UK will use its Presidency to further Global South calls for financing for loss and damage before COP27.
[Photo: a Friend taking part in a candlelit vigil for loss and damage at COP26 / Michael Preston]
4. Amplifying marginalised voices
As part of a coalition campaign to Make Polluters Pay, we joined forces with Global South partners to advocate for the establishment of an international loss and damage fund. At our parliamentary event in June, we invited experts in Bangladesh and the Solomon Islands to address MPs and their staff about the reality of loss and damage where they live. Together, we launched an international Loss and Damage Awareness Day that raised awareness of financing issues among MPs. Our work on this campaign will continue in 2022, so watch this space! We also shared one of our passes to the restricted ‘Blue Zone’ with an observer supporting an indigenous delegation.
[Photo: Quakers and others joined the Fridays for Future Scotland COP26 Demo / Michael Preston]
For more on our assessment of COP26, see our statement on the conference outcomes and read Olivia Hanks' blog about what's next for climate justice.
in Closing...
We hope this report gives a flavour of the many things we've built and achieved together in 2021. Despite the challenges and uncertainty caused by the pandemic, we really came out in force for COP26!
Although the summit's outcomes may not have been what we needed, our collective action built solidarity and ensured there was progress on multiple fronts:
- shifting the conversation from a 2-degree to a 1.5-degree pathway
- recognition that we need urgent action this decade, not by 2050
- a commitment to continue talks on the establishment of a loss and damage financing facility at COP27
- deals on methane, deforestation, polluting vehicles and coal.
Together, our actions showed world leaders that we cannot be bystanders in this climate emergency. They certainly felt our pressure on them to step up!
Many of the ends we work towards, historically and currently, are long term and require patient but creative work over years or decades.
From QPSW's strategy 2021–25
For now, we hope everyone can rest, reflect and reconnect with what makes their hearts sing. We’ll be back in 2022 to continue building the UK's climate justice movement and working towards a peaceful and sustainable world. We hope you’ll join us and make our movement even stronger!
To join the movement and follow our work:
www.quaker.org.uk
Credits:
Photos for Quakers in Britain by Michael Preston, Philip Wood and Ben Robinson.