As a mother of two, I've spent years hinting to the kids that we need to take climate 'change' more seriously. For climate 'change,' read climate 'emergency', or at very least 'crisis'.
The kids generally say, Yeah, yeah yeah, Mum. Duh! We know that....now, can we go to McDonalds and Primark?
Last night, our son came back from a youth club, slightly breathless with the energy of The Outside World and asked:
Mum, have you ever heard of COP26?
Ah, at last. Thank you church youth club.
Yes, I reply. It's the most important conference in the world, and it's coming to our town.
Let's go, boys! he says; it's his reply to anything he approves of.
Of course, I don't bother the kids with the discourse that COP26 is compromised by inequalities of access before it even begins; it is too little, too late.
COP26 is critical and we have to make the best of the status quo. It's all we have.
'Will Obama be there? Will Greta be there?' the kids ask, while pouring a supper of Malties and Cheerios. The dog hovers in hopeful expectation.
'Will Nicola Sturgeon be in it?' Tess asks. They are shocked when I tell them that Boris Johnson did not want Scotland's First Minister to be any part of it. What?
During October break, I was lucky enough to take Tess to a hotel in beautiful Edinburgh. By coincidence, my pal Stuart was playing with his band, Belle and Sebastian at The Countdown TED talks nearby. The talks are a 'countdown' to COP26.
Stuart kindly got me access. I was impressed by the level of 'covid security' (vaccine passports uploaded, testing on site before access, masks as standard. To me, it felt practical and safe).
Nicola Sturgeon spoke at the TED conference, although I didn't get to see that. I had previously emailed the SNP and urged them to do more to #StopCambo - to condemn the UK government's plan to drill a new oil field in the North Sea.
I think it's vital for a healthy democracy that we challenge out politicians - even the ones we broadly support - and nothing is more urgent than the Climate Emergency.
On the way back from Edinburgh, I overheard two women on the train lamenting that the Clydeside Express would be closed to traffic during COP26. Consequently, it would be a big hassle for them to drive to work.
I wanted Greta to come and sit down beside them, with her plaid shirt and her serious eyes. I wanted her to explain driving to work versus the fast track to an uninhabitable planet. A few more decades of 'business as usual' will only be catastrophic without serious climate action.
We've already done the talking. It's time for action. Bring it on, Glasgow. Do your best. Make it good. I beg you.
