As COP 30 approaches, here is a serialised article recollecting activism I was involved in during the run up to COP26, back in 2021, to inspire us in our endeavours. The COP26 conference in Glasgow came at a critical time for the world, when commitments were needed to half COz emissions by 2030. It was hoped that the Coat of Hopes would be a way of encouraging and inspiring world leaders and delegates to do the right thing at the conference….
Some of you will hopefully remember my efforts in encouraging church members, and other community groups around Birmingham, to make patches for a project called The Coat of Hopes back in September. I aimed to generate publicity for the Coat of Hopes pilgrimage as it gradually approached Birmingham from its starting point on the south coast near Brighton.
For those of you who don’t know, the Coat of Hopes aimed to involve as many groups of people as possible in making homemade patches for an increasingly magnificent patchwork coat, that as it made its way on to the COP26 climate conference Glasgow would come to represent the hopes, fears, dreams, grief and fears about climate change for the communities it passed through along the way.
When the Coat of Hopes came to All Saints. Kings Heath, Birmingham
I had worked hard to maximise publicity for the event, and yet – with a little help from a friend who works in media – it was with some trepidation that I stood waiting to see if the Midlands Today van would arrive, and then about an hour later, what I would actually say when interviewed by the reporter, live on regional TV!
But what happened afterwards?
But then, after, after all the excitement of the stitching stop and my 15 minutes of regional TV fame had died away, and the Coat of Hopes pilgrims had left town, I still felt that my part the project was not yet over.
You see, I had felt for some time a strong desire (calling?) to do something in response to COP26, and that that would involve me going to Glasgow and being present to protest at the climate talks directly. But when I had thought about this, it was the cause of some consternation.
How could I go to Glasgow – somewhere I’d never been, and didn’t know anyone – and get involved in climate activism?! I didn’t know anyone who was going and had no accommodation booked (many of the delegates to COP26 themselves struggled to find accommodation in Glasgow; there was apparently none to be had.) And as someone suffering with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue I also worried how l’d manage my condition while throwing my body in to the breach, so to speak. Before the Coat of Hopes came to town and came into my life, I had no realistic idea how I might go about doing this on my own.
But then a chance event began to provide a clue as to how I might go about getting to Glasgow in a ‘sensible’ way…
Look out of the next instalment of this exciting tale of pilgrimage in a few days time...
By Damian J. Hursey
Joy in Enough 