Extinction Rebellion pass the mic to rainforest indigineous leaders at COP26

Today in Glasgow, Extinction Rebellion are working with Indigenous Peoples Articulation of Brazil (APIB) and Amazon Rebellion, and listening to the voices of communities on the frontlines of climate change. Then we will be hearing from our fellow rebels from Northern Ireland, before returning to COP26 to dance away our climate grief.

Indigenous Peoples Articulation of Brazil (APIB), XR and Amazon Rebellion unite to pass the mic to the voices of rainforest defenders. We will gather to hear from our indigenous friends their testimony from peoples on the frontlines of the climate and nature emergency, before they go inside the conference. Following this we will pause to listen to the voices of the forest.

A 2019 Amazon Watch report stated “As the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon provides 20% of our oxygen, houses 10% of the planet’s biodiversity, and helps stabilize the global climate. The world needs it to survive. None understand this better than the indigenous peoples and traditional communities who call it home, and are proven to be its best stewards.” [1]

Performance by XR Northern Ireland

12 noon – George Square

The Northern Irish Extinction Rebellion group are in Glasgow for COP26, and will do a short performance focusing on greenwashing [2], and a ban on petroleum licensing. The performance will happen in the pedestrianised George Square in the centre of Glasgow today, and will include speeches.

Climate Ceilidh

1pm – Finnieston Street; outside COP26 entrance/opposite Nuffield Health

Findings from Imperial College London show that climate change is negatively affecting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of people around the world. [3] According to psychologist Tal Shafir, exploration and practice of new and unfamiliar motor patterns can help people experience new unaccustomed feelings. [4]

Extinction Rebellion Scotland are offering a remedy to grief by hosting a climate ceilidh [5] outside the COP26 Blue Zone entrance, and inviting others to join in. Let’s dance in the streets that have been closed down for the conference.

Citations

[1] Complicity in Destruction II (25th April 2019) https://amazonwatch.org/news/2019/0425-complicity-in-destruction-2 

[2] What is Greenwash?
“Greenwash”: activities by a company or an organisation that are intended to make people think that it is concerned about the environment, even if its real business actually harms the environment. https://www.greenwash.earth/

Data on global CO2 Emissions: https://www.iea.org/articles/global-co2-emissions-in-2019

Info on the threat of extinction: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/

What we risk without change: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-truth/the-emergency/part-5/#What-will-our-world-look-like-by-the-end-of-the-century

[3] The impact of climate change on mental health and emotional wellbeing: current evidence and implications for policy and practice https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/bitstream/10044/1/88568/7/The%20impact%20of%20climate%20change%20on%20mental%20health%20and%20emotional%20wellbeing%20-%20current%20evidence%20and%20implications%20for%20policy%20and%20practice%20%281%29.pdf 

[4] Using Movement to Regulate Emotion: Neurophysiological Findings and Their Application in Psychotherapy https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01451/full 

[5] What is a Ceilidh? https://www.licencetoceilidh.co.uk/what-is-ceilidh/