This November, world leaders will gather in Glasgow for the United Nations climate change conference, COP26. The UK is hosting the conference, and will play an important role in shaping the outcomes. It’s also a chance for the UK to step up our own commitments to meet our targets for net-zero.
Send your MP a prayer boat
Write to your MP, to ask them to take this opportunity to ensure that climate justice is delivered for everyone. As your MP represents you in parliament, they can pass on your requests and put pressure on the government and COP26 President Alok Sharma to make COP26 a success.
Why not get creative?
Christian Aid are working with the Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) to call on the UK government to #RiseToTheMoment at COP26. They’ve produced guidance on how to make an origami prayer boat to send to your MP.
Sending your MP a prayer boat adds a meaningful and personal element to your asks, to show how much you care about climate justice. It also makes your action part of a wider movement of prayer boats, calling on the government to ‘rise to the moment’ at COP26.
Check out Christian Aid’s guidance on how to make your origami prayer boat to send to your MP here.
Instructions
Step 1: Make your origami prayer boat using Christian Aid’s guidance. You can find their step by step guide here.
Step 2: Write a letter to your MP, asking them to rise to the moment and ensure that COP26 works towards climate justice. You might want to:
- Tell your MP about your origami boat, and let them know that you are praying for world leaders ahead of COP26.
- Ask your MP to write to the Prime Minister and Alok Sharma, to pass on your requests as they lead COP26.
- Ask the UK Government to end all use of public money to subsidise fossil fuels.
- Ask the UK to prioritise progress at COP26 to create new and additional sources of finance for climate related loss and damage.
- Include some information about why this is important to you. Your MP will receive lots of letters every day, so this will help yours stand out.
- Make sure you include your name and address, so that your MP knows that you are a constituent.
You can read a briefing from Make COP Count on these key issues here.
If you aren’t able to write your own letter, you can find our template letter here.
Step 3: Send your origami prayer boat and letter to your MP. Don’t know their address? You can find out who your MP is and where to write to them here.
Step 4: Share! If you’ve sent your prayer boat, post a picture of it on social media using #PrayForCOP26 to add it to Christian Aid’s fleet of boats heading to COP26.