Almost every year, I implore all the women who will be attending the COPs (big UN climate conferences / negotiations) to be the embodiment of Mother Earth, to represent and
speak for all the children, of all species — and to wear bright colours
while doing it.
But I don't want to leave out all the men and those beyond the binary who attend these Conferences of the Parties each November. The climate emergency is now so urgent that we can't do this without you. So here is my invitation to you — the world's grandfathers, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, cousins, husbands, partners, godfathers, comrades and best buddies.
SHOW OFF YOUR ECOLOGICAL SMARTS. During the negotiations, remember that we are facing (some sooner than others) a threat to our very existence. Our lives and livelihoods, our food security and water sources, our homes and (for some) entire homelands are threatened by this climate crisis — this enemy of our own making, this foe with no face.
So share your ecological literacy, your understanding of the importance of biodiversity. Call others on their eco-illiteracy and their lunacy or lack of logic. Admit what you don't understand. Don't be afraid to pose questions (especially "stupid" questions ... many of us are thankful for those!). Name evil where you witness it.
We can't eat coal. We can't drink oil. We can't breathe natural gas. It is neither money nor the burning of fossil fuels that gives us life. They merely give us ease. Speak up for the true necessities of life.
In his "solider uniform" |
DON'T BE A "SOLDIER" FOR YOUR COUNTRY, BE A WARRIOR FOR YOUR CHILDREN ... FOR ALL THE CHILDREN. Arrive with compassion in your heart, courage in your pocket, and creative solutions in your briefcase. SPEAK
UP and STAND UP! Then man up (a term I've never understood until now).
Your job, since time began for our species, has been to protect those
more vulnerable — especially the children. At the COPs, your vital role is to protect the right of all
children to a viable biosphere, to a safe and stable climate ... and to a future.
YOU CAN WEAR BRIGHT COLOURS, TOO! Those suits you wear seem so drab and boring. You're not soldiers — you don't have to wear a uniform.
Cut yourselves free this year. Undo your ties! Wear pink shirts or
yellow shirts. Wear bright blue or green shirts. Be a feast to your own eyes. ;-)
Anote Tong, climate change activist and former Kiribati president |
Be inspired by what men in the least developed (and therefore least polluting) regions and countries of the world wear. (How did business suits come to be synonymous with pollution and, well, death?) Wouldn't it be fun to be more colourful and more comfortable this year? And how will you come up with the creative solutions we need in order to address the climate emergency if you're dressed in your dreary, anemic, lackluster, cheerless, monotonous, and decidedly unimaginative suits? (Can you tell I'm not a fan of "the suit"?)
Mithika Mwenda, secretary general of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) |
Most certainly, life is not a zero-sum game. There are no winners when even one of us is losing. And right now, we're all losing — even those of you who feel like winners. (If one doesn't understand how we're all losing, one could do more research before heading to the climate conference.) Perhaps you can have some fun turning this into a win-win-win sort of game.
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I would appreciate hearing your thoughts or questions on this post or anything else you've read here. What is your take on courage and compassion being an important part of the solution to the climate change emergency?