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COP26 demonstration to take place in Stratford on Saturday 6th November




A day of demonstrations and marches calling for action on the climate emergency will take place in Stratford on Saturday 6th November as part of the Global Day of Climate Action taking place across Britain and the world.

COP Coalition 26 (52815008)
COP Coalition 26 (52815008)

The COP26 Coalition march has been organised by Stratford Climate Action, Stratford Friends of the Earth and Stratford Extinction Rebellion, and will see speeches, marches and discussions take place over the course of the day.

Starting at 10.30am at the Methodist church, the church’s Eco Group will hold a public discussion with Ian Shenton, the chair of the district council’s Climate Change Panel, who will give an update on the council’s plans to fight the climate emergency.

A rally will then form at 1.30pm at the bandstand of the recreation ground, where speeches will be given before a march around the town, finishing outside Nadhim Zahawi’s office with a list of demands and a call for stronger action both at home and internationally.

Finally, the march will be followed by a People’s Assembly in the Methodist church to discuss the climate emergency and what can be done to tackle it.

Chair of Stratford Climate Action, Stephen Norrie said: “It’s important to show that people really care about limiting climate change if we’re to avoid more of the kind of catastrophe we’ve seen in recent years, be that wildfires, flash flooding or droughts.

“We as a developed country have a massive responsibility to lead on this, to push countries like China, Australia and Saudi Arabia to do more, and to try to be the vanguard for decarbonisation.”

The list of demands to be presented to Nadhim Zahawi include ending support for the Cambo oil field near Shetland, repurposing investment for roads into public transport, and funding local authorities’ net zero plans.

Stephen said: “At present the UK government has some pretty ambitious targets, as befits the host of COP26, but they’re still doing a lot that seems incompatible with those targets. For instance, they don’t seem to be able to say no to new fossil fuel projects, of which there are 40 in the pipeline, quite literally. If these go ahead, then you can forget about the targets they’ve got.

“I think, to some degree, politicians just need to remember how to say no to big industries. In the past, environmental crises such as those involving pesticides were resolved by simply banning the products that were causing the crises. They need to remember where their backbone is.”

On his hopes for the day’s events, Stephen said: “Nadhim is our elected representative, so we want to draw his attention to what we think should happen, and it seems blindingly obvious that it’s not happening. Also, there’s a relationship between individual action and public action.

“We need people to take action in their own lives, and to talk about it, and be active in public. We need that to build into pressure on governments and, let’s not forget, the companies who are really at the heart of these emissions.”

For more information about what you can do to help tackle climate change, visit www.stratfordclimate.org



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