The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) began its 26th conference on Sunday, Oct. 31 in Glasgow, Scotland. The conference will be held until Saturday, Nov. 13.
The conference was first scheduled for November 2020; however, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similar to COP21, delegates are expected to commit to pledges to mitigate the effects of climate change, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.

While delegates met on Wednesday, Nov. 3, they discussed private sector funding to help mitigate climate change. Protestors in turn began their protest against “greenwashing,” which is a term for when organizations use disinformation to appear as environmentally responsible.

According to the New York Times, protestors detailed their demands, urging corporations to “take more substantial steps” and seize funding for fossil fuels. Protestors cited their concerns for the future, echoing reports from Ecological Threat Register, which projects that people may be displaced by a climate crisis as early as 2050.

A group known as the Greenwash Busters, a play on the film “Ghostbusters,” attended the protest on Wednesday, Nov. 3.

“We’re up here at COP[26] because we know there’s governments and companies that profess to be, you know, doing things to save the planet when actually they’re doing exactly the opposite,” Greenwash Busters member and protestor Richard Baxter said.

Baxter described their hypocrisy, noting that governments and companies that are committing greenwashing may appear to be environmentally responsible, despite investing in deforestation and fossil fuels.

Although there was an investment of $130 trillion in assets to combat climate change, protestors expressed doubt that the promises will be fulfilled.

Protests continued on Friday and Saturday from Nov. 5 to 6, drawing tens of thousands of attendees.

Fridays for Future, a movement that originated from climate activist Greta Thunberg’s 2018 strike in Sweden, organized a strike, which was led by youth, similar to Thunberg’s. They marched in Glasgow from Kelvingrove Park to George’s Square.

Thunberg spoke at the protest, saying, “It is not a secret that COP26 is a failure.”

She referred to COP26 as the “Global North Greenwash Festival,” noting how younger generations and marginalized communities were not being heard at COP26. She called for societal changes to mitigate the effects of climate change and urged global leaders to seize “business as usual” and instead take immediate, drastic action to cut global emissions.

Across the world, climate activists organized in cities such as London in England, Munich in Bavaria and Jakarta in Indonesia.

As the first week of COP26 concluded, over 40 countries promised to phase out coal by 2050 and 100 leaders promised to not only end, but reverse, deforestation by 2030. The United States of America and the European Union also announced a partnership to decrease methane emissions.

Since COP26 began, President Joe Biden has promoted the U.S. as a leader in combating climate change, especially since former president Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement.

While Biden has advocated for its $500 billion climate plan in the infrastructure bill, it was stalled by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Similarly, countries such as Russia have refused to cut 30 percent of methane emissions by 2030 as Yahoo! News notes that “Russia is a fossil fuel superpower and wants a ‘smooth’ transition to greener energy.”

A general consensus is necessary to mitigate the effects of climate change. Delegates will have to work to find a solution by Saturday, Nov. 13.