Don’t tell young climate activists like me that we’re ‘asking for the world’. We’re just trying to save it

It is the first week of Cop27, and just like the past 26, it is proving to be anything but a success so far

We know real change will not be driven by world leaders at Cop (AP)

As climate activists, we go into every year dreading the upcoming Cop whilst mourning the outcomes of the most recent one.

These international conferences – which market themselves as the be all and end all for securing climate action – serve to do anything but that. Instead, they are cornerstones of oppression and exclusion of the most vulnerable and climate-impacted in society, where polluters are centred and people are pushed out. Year on year, we brace ourselves for the absolute absurdities we will experience at the conference, and this year is no different.

It is the first week of Cop27, and just like the past 26, it is proving to be anything but a success so far.

From the number of fossil fuel lobbyists at this Cop rising by more than 25 per cent since last year in Glasgow, to reported human rights crises surrounding every aspect of the event, this Cop was destined to be a failure before it even began.

Rather than save our planet, it seems it is shaping up to greenwash Abdel Fateh al-Sisi’s authoritarian regime, parading selected, vetted “activists” on a global stage whilst Egyptian activists remain incarcerated in inhumane conditions.

Given the grim outlook of the conference in Sharm-el-Sheikh, it is understandable why some key figures such as Greta Thunberg have chosen to boycott this summit. However, Cop this year is not a total write-off and still presents an invaluable opportunity for change which we must seize.

We know real change will not be driven by world leaders at Cop; they have shown us that over the last 27 years. However, that does not mean that the prospect for change is entirely absent from Cop.

Ultimately, it is the only international climate conference of this scale that we have where world leaders congregate, it is the only time of year where climate dominates international headlines for two weeks and it is a time where protests on the ground result in real-time change in the conference output with more ambitious pledges being passed and loopholes in negotiation agreements closed up.

It is undeniably not good enough but when not good enough saves more lives than nothing, I would rather take what we can get whilst fighting for more rather than sitting aside.

Egyptian climate activists have not asked for us to boycott Cop27 – they have asked for solidarity. All eyes are on Egypt right now and with enough public pressure this could present as a lifeline for Egyptian activist Alaa Abd Al-Fattah, a political prisoner on hunger strike who will die if he is not freed urgently.

Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron are the first world leaders to raise his case with Egyptian President al-Sissi and if world leaders have any respect for human rights then they won’t be the only ones to do so. The protests and organising around Alaa Abd Al-Fattah’s inhumane detention are what have brought his plight to the global stage, and they’re what will hopefully save him too.

Time and time again, Cop proves to us that true power lies in people and communities and in daring to demand better. Whilst protest may be illegal in Sharm-el-Sheikh, pressure to act will still be felt by world leaders as thousands of people will be protesting to demand more from Cop and in solidarity with Egyptians across the world, from Manchester to Manila.

The fight for climate justice is a global, intersectional struggle that transcends conference walls and borders. That will never change.

What we should be seeing at this Cop27 is the liberation of all the unjustly imprisoned climate activists in Egypt and across the world, loss and damage taking centre stage, and an end to all oil and gas expansion and exploration.

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Cop27 needs to ensure increased investment in climate resilient social housing, renewable energy and green transport, with aid being given to the countries that can’t finance these implementations themselves due to the historic legacy of colonialism.

Cop27 should see the removal of the underwriting on fossil fuel companies and place sanctions on the the biggest polluters. Cop27 must see the funds promised to island nations at Cop26 materialise, and more. Cop27 needs to see an international green new deal and an the phasing out of fossil fuels, immediately.

We’re not asking for the world. We’re just trying to save it.

Scarlett Westbrook is a British climate justice activist and journalist. She is noted for her work in climate and education policy, and was the youngest regular policy writer in parliamentary history