ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have conferred their Fossil of the Day award to the UK as huge queues kept activist waiting outside COP26 on the first two days.
Two hour waits were reported at the designated entrance by the River Clyde in Glasgow. The Scottish Events Campus (SEC) is the home of the talks and its inner blue zone, accessible only to registered delegates, has been made international territory for the duration of the UN summit.
Climate Action Network International (Can) awards its Fossil of the Day gong every day during COP events. The "prize" is given to countries the organisation feels have worked to block negotiations.
The award has now been given to the UK presidency of Cop26 for accessibility issues and "hindering civil society's access to the negotiations".
The title is shared with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) over the long queues seen on Monday.
In a statement, the network said: “Can asked for a COP postponement as we feared people from the developing world wouldn’t be able to come and advocate for climate justice in the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
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"But the UK presidency insisted that COP26 was going ahead and was prepared to welcome the global community to 'the most inclusive Cop ever'. This spirit of inclusivity has showcased what the Brits do best – the art of queuing – for hours in some cases.
"People who have invested time and resources to travel to Glasgow have waited patiently only to find there is 'no room at the inn' for civil society and told to 'join events online' – to then find they were offline.”
Meanwhile, a second Fossil of the Day award was given to Australia for "unconscionable behaviour". Can said: "The Aussies are already excelling in heading for rock bottom this Cop.
"They’ve not only spectacularly failed to deliver ambitious contributions but have also approved three new coal projects in the last months."
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