‘COP26 Hot Air Band’ Protest in Merchant City

The COP26 Hot Air Band outside the Gallery of Modern Art

By Joshua Murray and Lia Chambers

Protesters dressed as world leaders appeared in Glasgow on Monday morning as COP26 kicked off in the city. Organised by OXFAM, the group named themselves the ‘COP26 Hot Air Band’.

The organisation performed different Scottish songs while targeting world leaders to take serious action against the climate crisis that we face today.

The OXFAM spokesperson of the demonstration, Nafkote Dabi, said: “These leaders need to take the climate crisis seriously to come up with solutions to listen to the necessary part of the climate crisis, especially through poorer communities, and we are tired of hot air and empty promises.  What we need is action.”

Nafkote Dabi speaking with Joshua Murray from City Live

The members who took part were from Africa and Europe and came together to tackle the same purpose: asking our leaders to take the climate crisis seriously and to take action to save our planet.

They stood outside the Gallery of Modern Art wearing costumes representing Boris Johnson, Joe Biden, Angela Merkel and others, and bagpipes were used metaphorically to show what has been done so far within climate solutions amounts to hot air.  

She said: “It’s like empty promises, you know, just blowing hot air and that’s what we don’t need.  We tackle what the world needs, and what humanity needs.  We need serious action.”