Privilege, Power, and Influence

 So it's been a minute. I told myself when I started this blog that I would only post when I felt like I have something to say. Well, I finally have something. And since it's been about two weeks since the close of COP26, I think I've finally recovered enough to put my thoughts to page- er -computer screen.  

But first a little background: For those who don’t know, I recently had the opportunity to attend COP26 for Climate Change. COP just stands for Conference of Parties, its run by the UN and there are different COPs. The climate conference is just the most well known of these. In fact, COP15 for biodiversity is to be held in China next year. 26 is the 26th COP for climate change, they've had one every year since 1995 (COP26 was supposed to be in 2020 but was postponed for obvious reasons). 

I went as an observer with work, we got accredited sometime in the last year (I don’t really remember the date) but the key thing is that obtaining accreditation means you can enter the “Blue Zone” meaning I’m in the area where global delegates meet. There is another zone called the "Green Zone" this area is more open to the public, and there are a series of panels there specific to the COP26 and climate issues. It was in a children's science museum so I had a blast! 

The key take away from all of this is: Somehow, I had weaseled my way into the same place where international policy is created. 

Look at this dork, just look at her.

I would say that COP26 was overwhelming, inspiring, frustrating, hopeful, exhausting, and powerful.

The first few days were completely overwhelming. I’ve been to a few large conventions before, heck GenCon has more than 60,000 visitors every year and I’ve been to that twice.

I spent most of my time just trying to see where my badge could get me, and the answer is not everywhere. I couldn't go into press rooms, lots of negotiations were closed to me, even the world leaders summit was exclusive. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had a limited amount of tickets, limited being like 7 for all of them. 

There were plenty of other panels for me to attend so I spent most of my time doing that and making random connections. I had major imposters syndrome while I was there, like I am an objectively silly person who exists, and somehow I am attending this major climate conference what difference could my presence possibly make? 

Side note: look at this sundew! It's made of hairbrushes! Amazing.

Early on one of the panel's I attended on youth activism really stuck with me, the speaker from Youth4Nature said "Every single one of you has privilege, power, and influence to make a difference here. Just by being in this room those things are true." My first thought was- privilege yes, I am incredibly privileged to be here, but power and influence? Okay. 

Considering that COP26 was labelled the most exclusive COP ever, voices for key demographics were sorely lacking in negotiations: indigenous voices, voices of the Global South, youth policy makers, and representatives for nature- many times its someone from all 4. I really am privileged to be in that room, even if I had to shove my foot in the door to get there. 

The impact of that comment wouldn't fully hit me until week 2 and when I say it hit me like a slap in the face I really do mean it. Now say what you want about politicians, some big names attended that conference, its global negotiations you're going to send recognizable people. 

In the morning I was at an event where Katharine Hayhoe was chairing. If you don't know her, she's a climate scientist and I really admire her work, so much so that it drives my own. I almost met her in 2020 but it got cancelled and she doesn't travel outside of Canada very often. So as soon as the panel was over I promptly marched up to her to introduce myself, tripped over my own foot and fell into a bush. She saw the whole thing but was very kind about it. Seriously though, fell right into it. Later that afternoon I was walking by an open window and I saw Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez through a window and I almost tripped over myself again. I took a picture- you know like a creep. Then I attended a panel and someone next to me said, I really want to get a picture with Nany Pelosi, I said "Good luck finding her." They looked at me funny and then pointed across me. Sitting like 3 seats away there she was. 

See? Proof! (That's Katharine holding her book, I was too flabbergasted to take a picture with her)

I have just run into 3 highly influential and powerful people by chance. How? Is this real life? Then I realized, that speaker was right. If I am sitting in a panel near Nancy Pelosi like its a normal thing, then I have the power to influence people around me. I might tell myself that I weaseled my way in here, but I can make a difference. Maybe I can't influence the negotiations, but I can use this to change my work, make new connections, even lift voices that need to be heard. 

Now remember, I am an objectively silly person. Heck, I genuinely accidentally became part of a protest on my last day of COP. Seriously, I just became part of the crowd and figured okay, I'm part of this now! 

Only I could attend a talk to then accidentally go to a protest. It was fun! Would attend another 10/10

But I still have the power to make a difference. So many times, since starting my work in environmental policy, I have genuinely worried that I no longer have any potential and this is it. I just am. However, I only stop having potential to change and grow if I decide that this is it. I have the potential to use this influence to change, maybe not the world, but at least Scotland. Not using this privilege, power, and influence would be pretty stupid on my part. 

Youth Panel that has some pretty amazing speakers, also Bear Grylls was there for some reason.

With that I need to talk about activism at COP26. The protests inside and outside the conference we so powerful and important. I've already pointed out that key voices were not heard in negotiations, these are the people who's lives are being affected here and now. Climate breakdown is impacting their ability to live, they are the ones who are on the ground doing battle and we are not listening to them.

The Global South is only responsible for 3% of carbon emissions and yet, those are the lives that are being hit hardest during climate and ecological breakdown. Indigenous communities have been caretakers long before European colonizers came and decided different, we need to listen- they know how to care for the earth and what we need to do to avert the impacts of climate breakdown. Youth policy makers and activists know what they are talking about- being young doesn't mean they haven't done the work. Nature representatives are begging you to see the biodiversity crisis and climate crisis as linked issues. Why are we having two separate COPs for breakdowns that are so readily interconnected? These voices don't just come asking for change, they come with solutions.

November 6th was considered the Global Day of Activism at COP26. I was in Glasgow that day, I had a few fringe events and one main COP event I needed to attend. As I was walking around the city you could hear protests all around you. They weren't coming from any single direction. It was a cacophony of voices begging policy makers to act. Our greatest mistake is not stopping to listen.