“Coming together to work on a shared task” [from the COP30 in Brazil]
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As we head to Belem and the COP30 this weekend, we might be seeing less arguing, more action, as today’s Guardian suggests:
From the very beginning, Brazil poured wide-ranging diplomatic effort into using the event to forge connections and foster climate networks, drawing on the Brazilian concept of the mutirão. Adapted from Indigenous practice, a mutirao “refers to a community coming together to work on a shared task, whether harvesting, building, or supporting one another”, said André Corrêa do Lago, the Cop30 president...
Brazil is heavily promoting an “action agenda” for Cop30: its “thematic days” will be organised along six key “axes”: transitioning energy, industry and transport to a low-carbon footing; stewarding forests, oceans and biodiversity; transforming agriculture and food systems; building resilience for cities, infrastructure and water; fostering human and social development; and unleashing enablers and accelerators, including finance, technology and capacity-building.
This is in line with Brazil’s overarching tenet for Cop30: that it should be about “implementation”; taking measures to achieve goals already set, rather than spending most of the time setting new goals, and squabbling over who should take most responsibility for doing so. “Our role at Cop30 is to create a roadmap for the next decade to accelerate implementation,” says Ana Toni, the chief executive of Cop30.
Sounds a good strategy to get things done.
So, is Sidmouth practicing mutirao – as the community comes together to foster climate networks? Do we have an “action agenda” to get things done? And is much of that about “implementation” of what we are already getting on with?
If we simply look at how the Sidmouth Herald is reporting this, we can see what is already happening on the ground by groups engaging with the wider community on the climate and the environment.
Firstly, Sidmouth Town Council has opened its Community Small Grant Scheme – which will enable so many of these practical projects to happen. Apply soon!
When it comes to the immediate events in Belem, the Sidmouth billboard response to the COP 30 in Brazil shows that through art and creativity, members of the community who are not usually engaged do take part in bringing these issues alive.
And there are so many groups which are going beyond the ‘usual activists’ in getting things done. So, at the end every month, the Sidmouth Repair Café opens its doors once again to help and encourage local folk to mend, repair, fix their treasured items. Also monthly, the Sidmouth Plastic Warriors are always ready for a beach clean, getting families and volunteers out in (almost!) weathers.
Also once a month has been an interactive session at the Library, with the Eco Hub Sidmouth expanding its climate action workshops to, again, engage directly with the community, the last Sidmouth event helping people identify local wildlife.
And there are the wonderfully active local groups and projects which continue to appeal to the wider public. During the recent Science Festival, the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group put on a session “All about our hedges”. Next weekend the Sidmouth Arboretum is giving away 300 trees to the public at its annual celebration of trees – which is always popular. And the Valley’s most prestigious environmental group, Sidmouth in Bloom, has won gold in the RHS SW In Bloom Champion of Champions – primarily due to its outreach work in the community.
There are also lots of one-off initiatives happening, for example the recent National Cycle to School Week organised by the Sidmouth Cycling Campaign, when schoolkids took part in a ride to stress the need for a safer bike path.
Finally, though, the wider community in the Sid Valley is engaged in making an impact on the climate and the environment – whether in climate awareness surveys which show ‘motivation to act’ or climate change events in Sidmouth organised by the churches.
If people are convinced that their actions have an impact, then, returning to the feature above from Brazil on less arguing, more action, then there is indeed hope:
Writing to participants, André Corrêa do Lago, the Cop30 president, could not resist mentioning another of Brazil’s passions: “As the nation of football, Brazil believes we can win by virada. This means fighting back to turn the game around when defeat seems almost certain.”
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