The first Fossil of the Day award at this COP26 was awarded to the British government, “for hindering civil society’s access to negotiations”.
The ironic honor is granted during the event by the organization Climate Action Network International (CAN), to countries “that did their best to block negotiations” every day of the conference to combat the climate crisis.
Brazil won the “anti-prize” at COP23, in 2017, because of a provisional measure that granted subsidies of up to R$1 trillion to the oil and gas sector, for 20 years.
At COP25, it went further: it was chosen as the country that most disrupted the climate throughout 2019 and left the event crowned Fossil of the Year.
It is in the concrete rather than abstract sense, the “difficult access” that distinguished the British government with the Fossil of the first day: with 30,000 registered in the event (a sudden increase of 5% in the local population), the security posts did not give enough flow, even causing delays in some meetings.
On Tuesday the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had to apologize to the Minister of Energy and Water of Israel, Karine Elharrar, who was unable to pass in her wheelchair nor found an accessible bus.
When people were able to enter, the problem would change place: “At 12:45 pm this Tuesday, COP26 reached its maximum capacity”, warned the communication platform. Those who had not entered were instructed to follow the events on the internet.
“People who invested the time and resources to travel to Glasgow waited patiently only to find that ‘there is no space’ for civil society and would have to ‘participate in online events’ — only to find they were offline,” joked CAN on the situation similar happened the day before.
It was also not easier for those who arrived before the blockade. At 10:30 am on Tuesday, there was still room, but patience was needed: from the first checkpoint to the final X-ray pass, it took 67 minutes.
In the queue — or gathering — for entry, physical distance was impossible, contrary to the anti-pandemic protocol that includes the need to present a new negative test every day.
Once inside, the problem was finding a place to work. At 11:50 am, there are already two professional classes in the media center: plug-in and unplugged (there is a subset of plug-in-but-no-adaptor for the weird British plug; but you can’t blame the organizers for the improvidence).
Half an hour later, new segmentation at the base of the pyramid: chairless people appear, typing on their laptops sitting on the gray carpet.
“I arrived early to have access to a desk and a computer, but I had to leave and, in a spirit of solidarity, I left my seat free. Now I don’t even have a seat to rest,” says Andoni, a reporter for a Basque TV.
Late Tuesday, the organization sent a message apologizing for “inconveniences associated with access” caused by “unprecedented and exceptional logistical circumstances.”
The text states that these first days served with learning and adaptations were made, but asked that the participants arrive at the site in advance. A added a warning: “In case of inclement weather, come prepared with the proper equipment.”
At the media center, part of the discomfort stems from the anti-Covid measures, which cut the number of seats in half to ensure 1.5 m of distance on the bench — although, in theory, they all tested negative for the Sars-Cov-2 and if crowded in the input queue.
Another source of crowding is the meeting of more than 100 global leaders in the first two days — in which Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro does not participate.
The presence of heads of government such as the American Joe Biden and the British Boris Johnson attracts more people, says Argentine CecÃlia, who has followed the conferences since COP20, in Lima, in 2014.
If the tendency is to open some space inside the convention center when the leaders leave, there should be no shortage of traffic jams outside.
In the middle of the afternoon, an email from the organization warned: “The conference bus and the X19 bus are unable to operate due to a small protest on Finnieston Street. We suggest that participants exit the venue through the ‘smartie tube’ tunnel.”
On Friday (5), there will not be a small protest, but a large demonstration by various groups, including the Fridays for Future network, run by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. On Tuesday, she has already participated in a protest telling leaders to “shove the climate crisis up their ass”.
The activists’ schedule takes the sleep of taxi driver Logan Stewart, who has suffered from traffic jams since last week, on the eve of the opening of the COP: “The procession of cars had already started at the exit of the airport [a 15 km de Glasgow].”
Other protests can disrupt the meeting days. Although a wage agreement has prevented the rail workers’ strike, on this Monday (1), the garbage collectors refused the proposed adjustment and folded their arms.
According to Scottish journalist Andrew McDonald of the news website Politico, this is likely to exacerbate an already persistent problem of public cleanliness, whose most frightening face is “the growing population of large rats gathering among the piles of rubbish in the city.”
Under the metaphorical aspect of “facilitated access”, the COP organization tried to make life easier for the participants. It relaxed quarantine rules, accepted all vaccinations to allow entry of foreign delegates, and took on various costs.
Until November 12, when the COP ends, subscribers do not pay for public transport or coronavirus tests, and received protective masks and hand sanitizer.
As there was a lack of accommodation in Glasgow and some of the people stayed in Edinburgh, the train between the two cities will also be free for those attending the conference.
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