Exhibiting at COP26 with Explorers Against Extinction

I am so incredibly honoured to have been selected as 1 of 25 artists to exhibit at the UN climate change conference in Glasgow next week, as part of the Sketch for Survival initiative run by Explorers Against Extinction.

Sketch for Survival is a global art initiative, run every year by Explorers Against Extinction to raise money for conservation. The team work incredibly hard each year to encourage artists and celebrities to get involved, organise a competition and award ceremony and ultimately raise money for wildlife. This year, they went one step further and were able to secure a place exhibiting in the COP26 Blue zone, out of over 7000 applicants. 25 artists were selected by conference organisers out of those exhibiting in the Sketch for Survival charity auction; a difficult task indeed with so many incredibly talented artists in the pool.

You can view the whole Sketch for Survival collection and bid on the pieces here.

Explorers Against Extinction trustee, Rob, assembling the exhibit.

What is COP26?

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, being held in Glasgow, UK. The summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In 1992, the UN organised the Earth Summit, in which the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted. In this treaty, nations agreed to ‘stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere’ in order to prevent dangerous interference from human activity on the climate system. Since the treaty entered into force in 1994, every year, the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits or “COPs”, which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’.

Why is COP26 so important?

It is no secret that climate change is the greatest risk facing the planet. Around the world storms, floods and wildfires are intensifying. Air pollution sadly affects the health of tens of millions of people and unpredictable weather causes untold damage to homes and livelihoods too. Not to mention the unbalance of ecosystems all over the planet due to human interference and the effects of climate change. My recent trip to the Arctic showed proof enough of this.

At COP21 in 2015, The Paris Agreement was adopted by almost all countries in the world in order to reduce emissions and help people adapt to a warmer world. However, certain countries are not doing enough to achieve the treaty’s goals. Many believe that COP26 could be our last chance to limit global warming, as the pledges to limit climate increase to 1.5 degrees celcius above pre-industrial levels are not being met. Pressure will hopefully be put on those countries that are not meeting the treaty’s criteria and there will be a push for less coal consumption, less deforestation and greener transport.

As over 30,000 delegates descend on Glasgow for one of the biggest summits the UK has ever hosted, we’re hoping that the Explorers Against Extinction exhibition will reinforce the message of ‘protect and restore’ our planet and reduce fossil fuel emissions worldwide.