Postponement of COP and our plans for the future

Last week, the annual climate change conference (COP26) was postponed due to COVID-19. Despite our disappointment, we understand that postponing COP26 was a necessary move; we are in the midst of a global health crisis and it is only right that we treat it like one. However, this does not mean our collective efforts to put climate education at the top of the agenda are going to waste. The postponement of COP26 allows the country to not just to protect the population and to allow us time to recover from the pandemic but also to make use of the pandemic moment of change to decarbonise society quicker than ever before. COP should be rescheduled for as early as possible in 2021 and governments around the world have shown they can react amazingly quickly in a global emergency, we must not forget this when we get to COP.

Teach the Future have already made great progress towards our influence over COP26 and are already continuing to develop our ambitious plans for the future, consisting of three main elements:

1. Extend Teach the Future to the whole of the UK with the aim that all four nations announce their support of our 6 asks in the lead up to COP, allowing the UK to become the pioneering nation on climate education.
2. Influence the text on climate education towards TtF’s asks in the COP26 Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) review, enabling the global progression of TtF.
3. Campaign to get climate education on all countries' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - this would further the link between carbon reduction and education and accentuate the need for adequate education on the climate crisis as a key element of climate action.

Teach the Future will carry on strategising and planning, using this time to continue preparing and strengthening our movement for education reform.

Stay safe!

Mary (16)

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