31st October – 14th November 2021
COPnes26 is a two-week series of planned events across Totnes, an opportunity for the town to respond to the global Climate Crisis.
Mirroring the international COP26 negotiations held in Glasgow during this same period, the town’s inclusive, conscious community will reflect on the implications, realities and actions needed to deal with the coming crisis.
Our hope is to enable our community of Totnes, Bridgetown and all of the local parishes to be actively involved and aware of what is happening at the Glasgow conference.
During COPnes26 the Totnes community will come together to explore questions on a range of subjects:
- What can a small local area do in the face of this global crisis?
- How should we prepare ourselves for radical change?
- Do our actions match our rhetoric?
- What is the reality of the situation – are we given the full facts?
- And what do we need to do differently when making local decisions?
Totnes declared a Climate Emergency in December 2018: the town has always been very aware of the deep symbiotic relationship between human impact and the natural world. COPnes26 is a natural evolution for a community that is hugely concerned about the global Climate Crisis.
WHAT WILL WE SEE?
We are planning big screens across the town to broadcast videos and clips from each day’s events from Totnes and Glasgow. We will unpack the COP26 events and negotiations through panel discussions and filmed events, debate and opportunities for the town to express their hopes, fears and pose questions. It will be an opportunity for leaders and decision makers, and those who represent the area, to clearly state their position and actions to their constituents and communities.
There will be Arts events and opportunities for creative responses to the Climate Crisis. The Church will hold silent vigils and consider the Spiritual impact on our lives. The Church community will reflect on the strength we need to support each other as a community.
There will be video links from Totnesians who are bearing witness to COP26 in Scotland, linking the Scottish city and Devon town in a valuable, unique shared experience of learning, planning, and self-critique.
Details & times are being constantly added to the calendar, as they become confirmed. Please check for updates as we get closer to the event.
COP26 is the 2021 United Nations climate change conference
For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority.
This year will be the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26. With the UK as President, COP26 takes place in Glasgow.
Glasgow is the moment for countries to update their plans
The run up to this year’s summit in Glasgow is the moment when countries update (and hopefully upgrade) their plans for reducing emissions. But that’s not all. The commitments laid out in Paris did not come close to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, and the window for achieving this is rapidly closing.
The decade out to 2030 will be crucial.
So as momentous as Paris was, countries must go much further than they did even at that historic summit in order to keep the hope of holding temperature rises to 1.5 alive. COP26 needs to be decisive.
