On 19th February, Footsteps held a one-hour Zoom workshop with Kamran Shezad, reflecting on his experiences of attending COP28. Kamran is Sustainability Lead for the BAHU Trust, and a Footsteps steering group member. The event was hosted by Mahmooda Qureshi, a Community Organiser based in Birmingham.
COP is the United Nations annual climate change conference. In December 2023, COP28 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The conference featured the first global stocktake, an assessment of action towards the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. In Paris, countries committed to holding global temperature rises “well below” 2˚C and to pursue efforts to limit heating to 1.5˚ C. It was billed as a critical moment to “keep 1.5˚ C alive” as global temperatures fast near this threshold. The conference also covered other important areas, including, the loss and damage fund and declarations on energy efficiency, ending deforestation, and the health impacts of climate change.
Kamran attended COP28 as a faith community representative and as an advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) where BAHU Trust has accredited ‘Observer Status’.
Listen to the interview with Kamran below. There is also a guide to the timings of different topics that are covered in the discussion, if you are interested in a particular issue.
0.00 Introduction of speaker and subject
1.58 What is UNFCC?
2.36 What is COP and how does it work?
7.28 How do the different zones work?
10.92 What was being talked about?
13.92 What were the outcomes of this year’s COP:
Global stocktake?
Loss and damage?
Progress on Climate Finance?
19.08 Fossil Fuels?
21.31 Is there any point in a COP?
24.34 How are faith groups involved?
27.06 Lessons for Birmingham and climate activists?
Questions from the Floor
29.42 What are the main challenges to the UK government?
31.16 What about China?
32.22 Loss and damage?
35.91 What about debt support?
39.40 Stakeholder group influence limited except with biodiversity
Governments and fossil fuel companies have the power
40.21 How are faith groups to promote hope?
41.91 What are campaigning priorities now? Electing the right people
45.16 Greenpeace is starting canvassing
47.11 Rethink how we travel
48.01 Too many delegates at COP
49.24 What Footsteps is doing – Chris Martin
53.16 Examples of actions eg avoiding single use plastics
54.21 Joint Hustings on Climate Change
54.36 Be bold about beliefs
55.11 Thanks. 55.28 Finish