Quakers in Britain, one of CTE’s 50 national Member Churches, has joined more than 70 other organisations in the COP26 Coalition to launch “a year of climate mobilisation from the ground up”.
In a statement released to coincide with the days when the COP26 climate talks were originally due to take place, the coalition highlights the power of grassroots action and vows to “hold politicians and corporations to account”.
The statement says that “[o]ur role is to demand climate action which truly addresses the nature and scale of the interlinked crises we face. In the face of escalating ecological breakdown, of which the pandemic is merely the first great disruption, we must be ready to respond as never before to the challenges of rising instability and growing inequality.”
Read the full statement.
The statement also sets the stage for From the Ground Up, the COP26 Coalition’s global gathering for climate justice, which is taking place online from 12-16 November. The gathering includes sessions on food systems, forests, a global Green New Deal, direct action, reparations, and much more. See the full programme and register here.
Oliver Robertson, Head of Witness and Worship for Quakers in Britain, said: “We are very pleased to be part of such an exciting and diverse coalition working for climate justice. As Quakers, a commitment to justice and equality is key to our ongoing work on climate. Meaningful climate action must be rooted in justice, and must address the systems that perpetuate injustice: that is our key message for the UK government and for all those working on climate in the run-up to the COP26 talks in Glasgow next November.”
Olivia Hanks, Economics & Sustainability Programme Manager for Quakers in Britain, said: “I would really encourage Quakers to join the From the Ground Up gathering. It’s a great opportunity to hear from activists across the world and to be part of a global movement. Learning from the wider movement can really help us to build an effective Quaker response to the climate crisis, before, during and after COP26.”
Further details
- Quakers in Britain are known formally as the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain.
- Around 21,575 people attend 467 Quaker meetings in Britain. Their commitment to equality, justice, peace, simplicity and truth challenges them to seek positive social and legislative change.
- For more information please contact Anne van Staveren, Media Relations Officer at [email protected]