Wolverhampton rallies for climate justice on global day of action

More than a hundred people gathered to protest for action against climate change, ignoring heckles from an angry protester to listen to speeches from councillors and activists and poems written and read by Wolverhampton children.

It came as tens of thousands of people protested across the country to coincide with the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow, which activist Greta Thunberg has called a "greenwash" and a "two-week long celebration of business as usual".

The largest events were in London and Glasgow, where around 100,000 people were estimated to have marched, but events were also held in Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Lichfield and Stafford.

Carol Hyatt, a UN-qualified climate change teacher who set up Penn Climate Action, led the Wolverhampton rally.

She said: "We are asking those with power to make the same visionary decisions that the councillors who chose to buy West Park for the good of the people of Wolverhampton have made.

"Today here we can say to councillors what are you doing to stop climate change? Today here we can say to MPs what are you doing to stop climate change?

"And if there answer is nothing or very little, then we have the power not to vote for them. We are actually very powerful when it comes to stopping climate change."

Mrs Hyatt set up Penn Climate Action after her and her husband retired when he was diagnosed with cancer, and she wanted to do something to make a difference.

The activist led a minute's silence for climate justice, voicing her plea to help southern countries who are more at risk from climate change.

Mrs Hyatt said: "On the equator it's 1.5 to stay alive. We are the lucky ones, we are not the ones that are already suffering the consequences of climate change.

"Climate justice means helping the nations in the south to cope with the consequences of the global north's industrialisation.

"It's called climate justice because it's usually the poorer people who suffer the most.

"People ask me what can I do? Every solitary little thing that you can do to reduce your global footprint keeps the temperature slower."

Councillor Steve Evans then spoke about Wolverhampton Council's efforts to help the fight against climate change since it announced its emergency climate resolution in 2019.

He said: "We said we wanted to be carbon zero corporately by 2028, so we're putting in place some plans and some of those have already come to fruition.

"We're leading on behalf of the Black Country in terms of ultra-low emissions."

Among these initiatives are new cycle lanes, electric vehicle chargers, and a plan for the first pantograph electric bus station in the UK - which would collect power through contact with an overhead line.

Councillor Evans spoke about these transport initiatives, and said: "We can't let vehicles run and rule our neighbourhoods and our roads.

"I'm not going to pretend and stand here today that we're going to ban cars - because we're not, but they are going to be respectful - it is a shared city of pedestrians, a shared city of cyclists, a shared city of people who use public transport, and yes, a shared city for car drivers."

He spoke about plans for Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital to be powered by a new solar farm which would make it the first hospital in the UK to be fully supported by green energy.

The councillor said: "I love saying this to people - how wonderful is it that we're going to use natural light that supports life to help save lives - not just at the hospital but by reducing pollution level which will reduce respiratory illnesses. Well done New Cross Hospital, well done the City of Wolverhampton Council."

Councillor Evans and Councillor Jasbinder Dehar were both interrupted by a man protesting the climate movement, calling it "brainwashing" and a "hoax" that was used to "push for lockdowns".

But they both carried on and the crowd cheered at their speeches, shushing the angry man shouting among them.

Councillor Dehar battled through the noise to commend Operation Noah, a Christian charity formed of 72 faith institutions who have pledged to divest from fossil fuels.

Other organisations at the rally included DivestWMPF, who want West Midlands Pension Fund to divest their £320 million pound investments in fossil fuels, and Amnesty International, who demonstrated the connection between climate change and human rights.

Amnesty says that 400,000 premature deaths have been linked to climate change, 26.4 million people have been displaced by weather-related disasters since 2004, and that global hunger could increase by 20 per cent by 2050.