Queuing, Relationality, and Climate Empowerment - COP26 Day 2

#COP26

It is so exciting to be here at the United Nations COP26 conference and it very is overwhelming and it is only day 2. I'm not sure how to find some rest. It is unlike any other conference I've been to in that you can't just come and go to sessions and easily find spaces to sit and enjoy a discussion with colleagues and new friends. Instead it is a 100% (or more) constant event. Thankfully I started the day with a beautiful sunrise over the River Clyde. 

River Clyde, looking east in Glasgow, Scotland

Arriving at the Scottish Event Center and waiting in line gave me flashbacks to the days of attending the Winter X-Games in Aspen being pushed with the crowds through stanchions of fencing to get to and from the busses. The thousands of people waiting in line to get into the conference center was outrageous. It took nearly 90 minutes to get from the train station to through the security checkpoint while the helicopters and other arial surveillance watched over us. I'm curious if this is similar to attending the Olympics. 

The main sport of COP26: queuing (waiting in line) to get into the Scottish Event Center; the Blue Zone

Continuing to wait in the que at the Scottish Event Center

Today's Meet the Moment! Join the U.S. Action for Climate Empowerment Coalition event made me so proud to be part of the U.S. ACE Coalition; and more so proud to do the climate education work I have been doing with the Youth Water Leadership Program. We are doing community climate education differently; we're collectively doing the work the world needs today. 

Give the recording a watch and you will be glad you did; so inspiring and grounded in the reality of communities back home. This is why I'm here in Glasgow, Scotland. 

Meet the Moment! Join the U.S. Action for Climate Empowerment Coalition 

Guiding Principles of the ACE Framework and Coalition

• Justice and Equity
• Action Oriented
• Coherence
• Relationality
• Participatory Collaborative Design

Read the white paper - Cintron-Rodriguez, I. M., Crim, H. A., Morrison, D. L., Niepold, F., Kretser, J., Spitzer, W., & Bowman, T. (2021). Equitable and Empowering Participatory Policy Design Strategies to Accelerate Just Climate Action 

U.S. ACE Coalition members present in Glasgow, Scotland at COP26 and others in zoom back home

Expansive view of community engagement to include all people at all stages of life and learning

U.S. Climate Action Center pavilion

U.S. Climate Action Center pavilion #WeAreAllIn

Also supported my American colleagues during the Culture Over Carbon: The U.S. Cultural Sector Advancing Climate Action event at the U.S. Climate Action Center. 

Also from today...

It's a normal thing to see famous leaders throughout the venue. And many are engaged in press conferences. They're not amplified, so the bystanders can't hear what is being said. Here's John Kerry. 

Came upon the end of the Extinction Rebellion action... so many people and so many police, though this photo doesn't capture the quantity all that well

Follow Sarah's experience COP26 in Glasgow Scotland at www.WildRoseEducation.com/UNCOP