In Nov. 2022, the Conference of the Parties (COP) in its 27th edition will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Such a decision was made at last year’s COP26 summit hosted by the United Kingdom in Glasgow, Scotland. Now the city of Glasgow in Scotland will be the starting point for the longest, non-stop, baton relay ever attempted as the city passes hosting duties to Egypt for COP27.
It will take 38 days & nights and will include thousands of runners, cyclists, and sailors who will all work together to pass the baton hand-to-hand from Glasgow across more than 7,800 kilometers to Sharm El Sheikh as part of the Running Out of Time, relay according to The National News.
Before reaching Egypt, the baton—which was created by Glasgow-based 4c Design—will travel by land and water through 17 nations, including Scotland, Wales, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and Cyprus. The Baton is set to arrive at Sharm el-Sheikh on Nov. 5, just in time for COP27 as STV News claimed.
Along the way, the baton will “inspire and advocate” local climate action by stopping at hundreds of schools, at-risk areas, and climate change programs, including 27 in the UK alone. But what is the fundamental purpose of this initiative? The statement on the baton, which says, “We are Running Out of Time,” is a message to world leaders attending the conference. This campaign highlights the significance of sending a strong message to COP27 decision-makers with enough backing to make it unavoidable if we are to have any chance of securing a transition to a secure climate future.
The COP is critical for global climate action and raising awareness about what nations need to do to play their part in the solution. The major goal is to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and global emissions must be lowered in half by 2030, with a goal of reaching “net zero” by 2050. The previous success of COP26 Glasgow was due to the submission of many new ‘Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs),’ which are climate action plans set to reduce emissions and adapt to climate effects. When implemented together, these plans are efficient enough to put the world on track for a temperature below 2 degrees Celsius.
