When COP is Held in One of the Friendliest Cities in the World
By Danielle Jameson
By the time I received my invitation to attend COP26, every hotel room in Glasgow was booked. The two hostel beds and few Airbnb’s still available were astronomically expensive. For about a week, I was in a panic that I would have nowhere to stay while in Glasgow. I had rushed to purchase my flight since that was needed to confirm my attendance, but I did not consider accommodations until after I bought my ticket. I somehow stumbled upon the Human Hotel. In collaboration with the Cop26 Coalition and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, the Human Hotel – a homestay community – created a home-sharing network in Scotland to provide affordable accommodation in and around Glasgow for COP26. A lovely family opened their home to me in the West End of Glasgow.
Their dog Minnie would greet me at the door after a long day at the COP26 conference center. My two hosts, Viv and Pat, would quickly put on the kettle and we would have our nightly debriefs. I would keep them updated on the status of the negotiations, the noteworthy people I saw, and any interesting talks I may have attended that day. In return they would share with me highlights from their days and educate me on Scottish history and UK politics. They said they decided to open their home to a COP attendee to do their part in fighting the climate crisis. They believed that the work being done at COP was extremely important, and they wanted to make sure those who needed to be there had a place to stay.
On Friday, November 5th we attended the Fridays for Futures youth march together. We were joined by some of my hosts’ cousins, sisters, brothers-in-law, a dog, and about six blonde-haired-children all under the age of 10 with the cutest Scottish accents. I spoke to two different cousins who sit on their community’s climate council, learned about the individual efforts being made in their own homes, made a pitstop for hot chocolate, and still made it to the end in time to hear Mikaela and Greta’s speeches.
I am incredibly appreciative for the opportunity Tufts afforded me to attend COP. Having spent the last two years studying international climate policy and doing a deep dive into climate negotiations (thanks to Jacob Werksman), I recognize that being able to attend COP in person was an experience I never would have had in a classroom. And still, I had mixed feeling about it. COP26 was being referred to as the most inequitable COP, labeled the whitest and most privileged ever by The Guardian. I spent my early days at COP unpacking my privilege and spending time listening to underrepresented groups. Hearing the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Motley, at the opening ceremony of the conference made those inequalities apparent as she laid out what we are at risk of losing. My research focuses on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and climate adaptation, so I spent much of my time attending sessions on SIDS and tracking the negotiations on loss and damage.
These days were heavy but were brightened each night when I went home to Minnie and cups of tea shared over laughs, debates, and rapid-fire questions from a 13-year-old boy who had “never met an American before” and was curious if cheerleaders were real and why US American football players wore so much padding. Returning to my homestay at the end of every exhausting day literally and figuratively filled my cup. On my last night in Glasgow, after learning I had yet to try Irn-Bru, a Scottish soft drink, Pat ran to the store to make sure I tried it before I left. They served a special vegan meal and we discussed whether the boys’ school had yet to discover the vandal who graffitied penises all over the boy’s restroom. ∎
Danielle Jameson is a masters student in the UEP program at Tufts University.