Jo Dodds to take stories of bushfire survivors to Glasgow United Nations Climate Change Conference
21 October 2021
Published by https://www.begadistrictnews.com.au/
AUSTRALIA – Impacts of the Black Summer bushfires on our community are to be shared with the world at the upcoming United Nations summit in Glasgow.
Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action President Jo Dodds has been allocated one of the badges issued by the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) to represent community members impacted by the fires that ravaged the region.
The conference is scheduled to be held in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, between October 31 and November 12, 2021.
Due to COVID, the ability for world leaders to meet and discuss climate change policy has largely been put on hold, but COP26 will provide the opportunity to take the issue to the world stage once more.
“COP26 is particularly urgent given that we’re sort of two years behind the setting of international targets and the checking in to see where each of the more than 200 countries represented there have ended up,” Ms Dodds said.
On October 15 Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed he will attend the event, but his government’s position on its plan to reduce Australia’s emissions to take to COP26 has not yet been finalised
Earlier this year, Mr Morrison said the government’s goal was to reach net zero as soon as possible, “preferably” by 2050.
His goal stands behind the rest of the world according to a report released on October 21 by the Climate Council of Australia ranking Australia “dead last” on climate action of all developed countries, even with the net zero target by 2050.
“It’s great that he’s now going, but if he goes to Glasgow and doesn’t commit to urgent reduction of emissions then he is basically committing to more homes burning down,” Ms Dodds said.
The UN summit invitation was a bit of a shock for Ms Dodds though, she only received the invitation on Monday, October 18, just 14 days before the event.
Although getting an exemption and and tests to travel during a pandemic was a complex endeavour, Ms Dodds was confident she would be able to travel and had already booked accommodation.
“I haven’t even been to Eurobodalla [during the pandemic lockdown] and now suddenly I’m going to Europe! It’s mind-blowingly odd.”
The most important thing before she took up the offer was to check that her presence on behalf of BSCA’s was valuable enough to warrant her taking up the ticket and so asked “older wiser people” who know of the work the organisation has been doing.
“They all said they were excited and it would be really important that we have lived experience of bushfires voice at that event, so that’s all I needed to hear.
Ms Dodds will be speaking at the event to represent, “the people who have been impacted by bushfires or will be in future and the communities who are suffering and living in fear of the next fire”.
“When the costs of climate mitigation are being discussed, we need to remember that we’re already paying the costs and those costs are falling to ordinary Australians, particularly in rural and regional areas.”
Ms Dodds will be fundraising over the next couple of weeks through Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action to cover the expenses of the trip, but had already had around 70 people pledge donations to assist.
The funds would additionally be used to run a strong media campaign around “the role of having people with lived experience at the centre of this decision making,” she said.
“I will also be taking the stories of other bushfire survivors with me with their photos and their written stories, so it’s going to be literally like all these people jumping into my suitcase with me.”
BSCA will also be putting out another call who those who may not have shared their stories yet.
“Now is a good time to raise your voice, with someone at COP26 we can get all those stories out to the international media and make decision makers take notice of those stories,” Ms Dodds said.
