Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will put on his own alternative summit to the COP26 gathering of world leaders in Glasgow.
Corbyn will host four days of talks, workshops and performances with the Peace and Justice project, which he founded, at Websters Theatre in Glasgow in November.
The Scottish city is hosting the official COP26 climate conference for two weeks from the end of October, in an event that will see world leaders come together to find the best way to tackle the climate emergency.
Last month Boris Johnson used a major speech to the United Nations General Assembly to challenge the message of Muppets character Kermit the Frog, who sang: “It’s not easy being green.”
A key goal of the conference is to ensure major economies continue with their attempts to keep any further temperatures increases to 1.5C.
The summit will also involve calls to accelerate the phasing out of coal, curtail deforestation, speed up the switch to electric vehicles and encourage investment in renewables.
Corbyn’s own “An Alternative COP26” cameo will emphasise the role of the big polluters and banks in climate change, and the “weak politicians too scared to take them on”.
“I can’t wait to be in Scotland during COP26 to add my voice — and more importantly raise up the voices of others — to propose radical and rapid change,” he said.
“That change must be environmental but also social and economic. Our crises of inequality, climate, Covid-19 and democracy are all linked.
“The climate is a class issue at home and an international justice for the world. Those who have done the least harm suffer the most and the first.”
The sense of urgency around the COP26 summit was amplified following the release of the release of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment, which found that humans were “unequivocally” responsible for global warming.
Global warming of 1.5 °C and 2 °C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases occur in the coming decades, the report noted.
Johnson has already asked that the developed countries which committed to mobilising $100billion (£73 billion) a year in climate finance continue to work towards the target.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, only $79.6 billion was mobilised in 2019.
