COP26: the flip side of the global warming conference in Glasgow

COP26, an annual meeting organized by the UN to debate and set commitments in the fight against climate change, receives the world’s government and civil society leaders, who were the main protagonists of various events, at a difficult time at the climatic and health level due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fiery statements, prominent absences, unusual criticisms, announced farewells and curious moments found space during the first week of the COP26, who returned -after a year of absence- in Glasgow, Scotland.

Harmful fashion, according to McCartney

The successful dressmaker Stella McCartney, daughter of the exbeatle, arrived at COP26 and her presence did not go unnoticed. Neither are his words.

More than 30 years in the fashion industry and experience in not working with leather despite initial skepticism from his colleagues, gives McCartney a powerful and authoritative voice. His criticism struck a chord.

“I think I am one of the few fashion designers here. And sadly we are one of the most harmful industries for the environment “he explained in an interview to the AFP agency on Wednesday in Glasgow.

“I came here to show the future of fashion and to show everyone simply that there is another way of doing things, using technology and young startups”, he concluded.

Merkel’s goodbye

France, through its president Emmanuel Macron, paid tribute to the still German chancellor Angela Merkel after 16 years in power.

Since her appointment in 2005, Merkel has worked closely with the conservatives Jacques Chirac (1995-2007) and Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012), the socialist François Hollande (2012-2017) and the liberal Emmanuel Macron, who closed the cycle with this last visit, in Beaune.

“Since you have been chancellor, France has known you and loves you”, during all these years, you have contributed to keeping Europe united despite all the shocks”. This is a magnificent European destination, “said Emmanuel Macron, hailing the” exceptional “career of Angela Merkel, who thanked her host.

In addition, Merkel received the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, the highest recognition of merit granted by the French State.

Greta bawdy

What doubt is there Greta Thunberg He will always be the protagonist in the event he attends, his words reverberate and the message impacts, but now, in addition, his insults impress.

“You can put the climate crisis up your ass”the 18-year-old activist sang in a festive tone with other young people who gathered at Festival Park in Glasgow.

And, although it is risque, it is consistent with the last statements that Thunberg gave at COP26, acidic, pessimistic with the actions of world authorities.

“In the current situation, this COP will not involve major changes”the leader of the Fridays for Future movement told AFP in October during a climate concert organized in Stockholm.

And shortly before his participation in the summit, he said that “COP26 has been named the most exclusive COP. This is no longer a climate conference. This is a green image washing festival for the global North. “.

AMLO and Johnson, from Mexico to London

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), raised his voice from Mexico to Glasgow – where he is represented by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard – and called for an end to hypocrisy.

“Enough of hypocrisy and fashions, what you have to do is fight the monstrous inequality that exists in the world”, said the leftist president in his usual press conference.

“And then they all arrive in private planes (…), Europe was full of planes, of pure president, heads of state”, he expressed and the phrase fit perfectly in what was done by the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

According to the press, Johnson flew in a private jet from the climate summit in Glasgow to London to participate in a dinner with his former colleagues from the newspaper “Daily Telegraph”, something that has been criticized as “hypocrisy” by the Labor opposition. .

The president of the Labor Party, Anneliese Dodds, described as “overwhelming hypocrisy” that the prime minister traveled within the island by private jet – according to different studies, one of the forms of transport that produces the most carbon emissions per passenger – when hours He had previously warned that the world is heading “towards the Last Judgment” if climate change is not stopped.

Biden, an all-rounder

The mere presence of Joe Biden it is news wherever it occurs. He is the president of the most powerful country and if to that you add a direct criticism of his main rival and, incidentally, you add a nap in the middle of the summit, you already have several ingredients and guaranteed distraction.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a “big mistake” by not attending the G20 summits in Rome and the UN Climate Change (COP26), Biden said provocatively.

“I think it was a big mistake, frankly, that China did not show up. The rest of the world has looked at China and wondered what value they are bringing “Biden said at a press conference at the Glasgow summit.

“It’s a huge issue and they turned their back on it. How do you do that and then claim to be a leader? ”, finished off.

The international media titled that “he slept a little”, “only 30 seconds”, that he was “alerted” by an assistant. The concrete thing is that the image of the most powerful president in the world squinting for a moment was one of the most curious moments of COP26.