By Elishya Perera
LONDON (CU)_Environment campaigners are calling on the British government to deny access to polluters for this year’s pivotal UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), and also have them “locked out” of all future UN climate talks.
In a letter addressed to COP26 President Alok Sharma, the campaigners cited a 2019 study which revealed how 20 companies were responsible for one third of globe emissions, adding that “we are not all equally responsible” for the climate crisis driven by climate pollution.
They claimed that the presence of these polluters in the UN climate talks is “poisoning” the debate, and therefore called on the British government to “take a firm stance and kick climate polluters out” of the historical summit.
The campaigners listed out five steps which should be taken in order to realise “fossil-free and polluter-free UN climate talks”.
The first step is to refrain from giving UK passes to polluters or their industry representatives, and to not invite them to speak at events. Secondly, they recommended that the government refrains from taking sponsorship money from polluters, inside or out of the formal discussions.
The third step is to reject false solutions put forward by climate polluters, including fossil-powered hydrogen, Bio-Energy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and others.
They also recommended that the government adopt a conflict-of-interest policy which would shut climate polluters out of UN processes, and be denied access to accreditations, expert and advisory bodies and UNFCCC posts and sponsorship deals.
The fifth and final step is that climate justice be delivered by silencing the voices of polluters and prioritising those worst affected instead.
The letter was signed by over 170 grassroots groups from across the globe, who claimed that the transition to a fossil-free world is prevented by the inaction of many polluters, and therefore, called on the government to protect vulnerable communities by implementing the aforementioned recommendations.
