{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"","standfirst":"","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15276/img-20211105-wa0001.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"altText":"Bear Grylls holds a microphone and paper while giving a presentation at COP26","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EToday at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Chief Scout Bear Grylls delivered three keynote speeches to show world leaders and change makers that enough is enough. We must take action now and save our planet \u2013 and Scouts are leading the way.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt COP21 in Paris in 2015, global leaders agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees and aim for 1.5 degrees to prevent devastating impacts. Unfortunately, the commitments laid out didn\u2019t come close to reaching 1.5 degrees. The window for achieving this is closing, so we need countries to go further.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInspirational voices like Bear Grylls, David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg have been motivating attendees to take further action at this year\u2019s conference of the parties.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBear Grylls is backed up by thousands of young people in Scouts who\u2019ve already been taking action to fight against climate change. Through our #PromiseToThePlanet campaign, young people from over 55 countries have clocked an incredible 90,000,000\u002B hours of action for our world so far.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is what Bear had to say:\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you had to ask the simple question: What is our biggest challenge as citizens of planet earth? What is the one thing that matters most? What\u2019s the one thing that unites us all?\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAsk any of our 57 million young people that form of global Scouting family, and the answer is clear. It\u2019s our precious Earth \u2013 protecting the only home any of us have.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, we\u2019re faced with a hard, stark choice. Take action now, and stop climate change. Or leave it for another generation. With the excuse it was too difficult. Too demanding. Too impossible.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut during my twelve years as Chief Scout, if I\u2019ve learnt anything, it\u2019s that Scouts tackle the impossible. They never shy away from the toughest tasks. It\u2019s that as Scouts we care.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ve just had twenty of the hottest years on record. The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting. Deforestation continues, unchecked.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis COP26 is our make-or-break chance to stop this slide to catastrophe.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re not here to point the finger of blame. It\u2019s too important a time for that. A global problem needs a global solution. And every one of us needs to play our part.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s why, we, as Scouts, are taking the lead, and making a Promise to the Planet. To say enough is enough. We\u2019re uniting all our 57 million Scouts around the world to use their voices in the fight for our future.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut we can\u2019t do it alone. We need our world leaders to make a promise too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA promise to change their policies. To change the way we create our energy and use our resources.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve been lucky enough to have spent my life in many of the world\u2019s wildest places. I\u2019ve seen the great forests of the Amazon; the deserts of Africa. I\u2019ve looked out at the world from the summit of the world\u2019s highest peak, Mount Everest.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI know just how much we have to lose.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI know that the power of these incredible places is deceptive \u2013 and the reality is that we live on a fragile Earth.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGlobal emissions are threatening the thin blue halo of our atmosphere. We lose it, we die.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019m here today, not just as Chief Scout, and Chief Ambassador of World Scouting. But as a father, and as a citizen of our planet. I am here asking us all to take a stand before it\u2019s too late.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes \u2013 things are changing, but slowly. Yes, our countries are starting to make better choices. We are beginning to understand that a sustainable future can also be a prosperous one.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the pace needs to quicken. As Greta Thunberg has warned us: \u2018Our house is on fire.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s at times like these one that we need to make brave decisions. Decisions that will create a better future for every one of us. If we work together we can form a chain, and put out the fire.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYoung people are shining lights to us all. They\u2019re making changes in their own lives to reduce, recycle and recover.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey\u2019re switching to planet friendly diets, eating food that hasn\u2019t crossed the world to get to their plates. They\u2019re upcycling their clothes. They\u2019re planting trees, and seed bombing gardens and local areas. They\u2019re thinking carefully about how they spend their money. Buying better. Buying greener.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMost powerfully of all, they\u2019re sharing their message with others.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause that\u2019s how change happens. We inspire each other.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019m proud that young people are leading this fight. And I\u2019m proud that this mission transcends borders.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAcross more than 150 counties, Scouts are united by a promise to help other people. Our \u2018Promise to the Planet\u2019 is that promise in action.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis week, we all long to hear world leaders make real commitments to tackle climate change.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re counting on them. The world is watching.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd I have great hope this change can happen \u2013 I have hope in our future because I\u2019ve seen the power of young people working together.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts is a global force for good and the change we can make is real.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo yes, we will stand united and together, we will ask the tough questions.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETogether, we will insist our leaders do more to protect our home\u2026\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003Eand as Scouts, we will insist on creating a better world for the future.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"05 November 2021","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"TRH Duke and Duchess of Cambridge make their #PromiseToThePlanet","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/november/trh-duke-and-duchess-of-cambridge-make-their-promisetotheplanet-at-a-glaswegian-scout-group/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48676,"nodeName":"Chief Scout Bear Grylls speaks at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow","title":"Chief Scout Bear Grylls speaks at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/15276/img-20211105-wa0001.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd1a953720","caption":"Bear Grylls at COP26","type":"jpg","size":60299,"width":1024,"height":683,"altText":"Bear Grylls holds a microphone and paper while giving a presentation at COP26"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Chief Scout Bear Grylls speaks at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Bear Grylls tells world leaders at COP26 that we need to act now and make a #PromiseToThePlanet","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODY3NiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/november/chief-scout-bear-grylls-speaks-at-the-un-climate-change-conference-cop26-in-glasgow/"}