Blog

G7 to COP26 By Foot

Posted in: Blog
Date posted: 28 May 2021

Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) is organising a ‘Relay to COP26’ and they want you to be involved. We asked YCCN to tell us more.

On the 13 June, a 1000 mile walk begins from the location of the G7 in Cornwall, UK, which will arrive in Glasgow the night before COP26 begins in November. Along the way, church leaders will hold services and events at key cities and join us in praying for climate justice. 

The symbol of the Relay is a boat, a representation of our hope that we would #RiseToTheMoment and set sail towards a just future. It also connects to the recognition in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic that ‘we’re in the same storm, but not in the same boat’. As young people under 30, we are mindful that we are on the course of another storm too; over half of all emissions have been released in our lifetimes, and global average temperatures are set to continue rising over the decades ahead. The consequences of this storm will not be felt equally, but they will be felt acutely. 

The focus of our campaigning alongside the relay, is on climate finance. The UK is a major global financial player, but at present the government has not met its own international commitments for overseas aid or climate finance. We want to drive climate finance up the agenda of the G7 and COP26 meetings. For the UK, hosting both meetings in a year is a huge opportunity, and we feel we must mobilise as individuals and as the UK Church to scrutinise the decisions happening on our doorstep.

We are encouraged by the many people we know who are praying ahead of COP26, and by the skills and energy that many volunteers are bringing to the Relay. One verse we are returning to repeatedly is ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’ (Proverbs 29:18). We pray leaders would have the vision they need to bring flourishing in the midst of the ‘storms’ of the pandemic and climate change. 

You can follow the journey of the Relay via social media. YCCN is @YCCNetwork on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We will join with you in prayer.

The Relay is open to people of all ages. You can walk some of the route, offer accommodation to walkers or arrange to ‘meet and greet’ walkers as they pass through your area. Find out how to get involved.