Blog (Latest News, Info and Updates)
COP26
Saturday 25th September 2021
David Pott
When people feel passionately about an issue, walking is quite often a response. This is definitely the case with Climate Change and it sounds as if there may well be a significant number of walkers arriving in Glasgow at the start COP26 in November. Here are two initiatives that it would be good for people in the Journeying Community to be aware of if you are not already...
The Young Christian Climate Network describes itself in this way: "We are an action-focused community of young Christians in the UK aged 18-30, choosing to follow Jesus in the pursuit of climate justice." They decided to organise a relay walk from Carbis Bay in Cornwall which started on June 14th and at the time of writing this, the walk has reached Leeds. The slogan for the walk is "Rise to the Moment" and they are asking for 4 things:
1. Reinstatement of the foreign aid budget to pre-Covid levels.
2. Securing agreement from rich countries to double the commitment of $100bn a year for climate finance.
3. Developing with governments and international organisations a new regulated climate loss and damage mechanism which not only saves lives but livelihoods.
4. Pushing for the debts of the world's poorest countries to be cancelled so they can better confront the climate crisis and other urgent priorities.
A special feature is a boat which is also travelling with the walkers and which is making the point that "We are all in the same storm, but we are not in the same boat." There is a wealth of information about the walk on this website
The second initiative is called The Coat of Hopes. This walk began in Newhaven in late August and has now reached the Birmingham area. It features a coat which, once it is completed, will consist of 300 patches created by groups or individuals along its journey route and beyond. People's griefs and remembrances connected to their local landscapes and stories of migration, along with their prayers and hopes for the future will be stitched appliqued, felted and painted onto pieces of blanket which will be added to the coat as it travels to the Climate Change conference. It is hoped that in Glasgow some world leaders will wear the coat to feel the weight of people's concerns. Again there is a website
which has all the information about the initiative.
It would be a great help if you could let people who live on or close to the routes know about these walks. I am leading the Rise to the Moment Relay Walk when it passes through County Durham in early October. Also if you know any likely patch makers please inform them. They do not have to live close to the routes and can send their patches by post.
Images:
• David Pott
• YCCN walk crosses the Pennines
