Asad Rehman giving a speech Wednesday at COP26 in which he blasted the world's richest whose "broken promises are littered across 26 COPs." (Photo: War On Want)
Nov 10, 2021
Declaring that "it is ordinary people who change history," climate and social justice campaigner Asad Rehman on Wednesday gave a brief but searing indictment of rich nations that are "deliberately sacrificing the poor for profit."
Rehman, executive director of anti-poverty group War on Want and a spokesperson for the climate justice COP26 Coalition, delivered the remarks at a high-level segment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference underway in Glasgow, Scotland.
Just before his speech, he promised to those who marched for climate justice by the tens of thousands in the U.K. just days earlier that he would "take your demands to world leaders."
"I had a speech prepared to deliver in relation to the cover decision," said Rehman, referring to the COP26 draft decision text, "but frankly it's going to fall on deaf ears, so I won't bother."
"The richest have ignored every moral and political call to do their fair share. Their broken promises are littered across 26 COPs," he said, decrying "empty press releases drafted by polluting companies [that] no longer fool anyone."
\u201cHonestly so fed up with the lies and spin from rich countries that I decided to rip up my speech about the #COP26 cover decision at today\u2019s high level segment & bring the message from @COP26_Coalition into the halls instead \u201d— asad rehman (@asad rehman) 1636567518
Failures on Covid-19 vaccine equity and net-zero by 2050 pledges, he said, "are just the latest examples of deliberately sacrificing the poor for profit by those whose wealth was, and continues to be, looted from the Global South."
"Whilst we are frustrated and angry, we are not without hope," he continued. "We know it's ordinary people who change history--and we will change history."
"The era of injustice is over," Rehman added. "We will uproot these systems of oppression with our global Green New Deal to guarantee everyone the right to live with dignity and in harmony with our planet."
"Across COP26 we have spoken truth to power," Rehman added in a tweet. "From the streets to the High Level plenary the call for justice will be heard."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Declaring that "it is ordinary people who change history," climate and social justice campaigner Asad Rehman on Wednesday gave a brief but searing indictment of rich nations that are "deliberately sacrificing the poor for profit."
Rehman, executive director of anti-poverty group War on Want and a spokesperson for the climate justice COP26 Coalition, delivered the remarks at a high-level segment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference underway in Glasgow, Scotland.
Just before his speech, he promised to those who marched for climate justice by the tens of thousands in the U.K. just days earlier that he would "take your demands to world leaders."
"I had a speech prepared to deliver in relation to the cover decision," said Rehman, referring to the COP26 draft decision text, "but frankly it's going to fall on deaf ears, so I won't bother."
"The richest have ignored every moral and political call to do their fair share. Their broken promises are littered across 26 COPs," he said, decrying "empty press releases drafted by polluting companies [that] no longer fool anyone."
\u201cHonestly so fed up with the lies and spin from rich countries that I decided to rip up my speech about the #COP26 cover decision at today\u2019s high level segment & bring the message from @COP26_Coalition into the halls instead \u201d— asad rehman (@asad rehman) 1636567518
Failures on Covid-19 vaccine equity and net-zero by 2050 pledges, he said, "are just the latest examples of deliberately sacrificing the poor for profit by those whose wealth was, and continues to be, looted from the Global South."
"Whilst we are frustrated and angry, we are not without hope," he continued. "We know it's ordinary people who change history--and we will change history."
"The era of injustice is over," Rehman added. "We will uproot these systems of oppression with our global Green New Deal to guarantee everyone the right to live with dignity and in harmony with our planet."
"Across COP26 we have spoken truth to power," Rehman added in a tweet. "From the streets to the High Level plenary the call for justice will be heard."
Declaring that "it is ordinary people who change history," climate and social justice campaigner Asad Rehman on Wednesday gave a brief but searing indictment of rich nations that are "deliberately sacrificing the poor for profit."
Rehman, executive director of anti-poverty group War on Want and a spokesperson for the climate justice COP26 Coalition, delivered the remarks at a high-level segment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference underway in Glasgow, Scotland.
Just before his speech, he promised to those who marched for climate justice by the tens of thousands in the U.K. just days earlier that he would "take your demands to world leaders."
"I had a speech prepared to deliver in relation to the cover decision," said Rehman, referring to the COP26 draft decision text, "but frankly it's going to fall on deaf ears, so I won't bother."
"The richest have ignored every moral and political call to do their fair share. Their broken promises are littered across 26 COPs," he said, decrying "empty press releases drafted by polluting companies [that] no longer fool anyone."
\u201cHonestly so fed up with the lies and spin from rich countries that I decided to rip up my speech about the #COP26 cover decision at today\u2019s high level segment & bring the message from @COP26_Coalition into the halls instead \u201d— asad rehman (@asad rehman) 1636567518
Failures on Covid-19 vaccine equity and net-zero by 2050 pledges, he said, "are just the latest examples of deliberately sacrificing the poor for profit by those whose wealth was, and continues to be, looted from the Global South."
"Whilst we are frustrated and angry, we are not without hope," he continued. "We know it's ordinary people who change history--and we will change history."
"The era of injustice is over," Rehman added. "We will uproot these systems of oppression with our global Green New Deal to guarantee everyone the right to live with dignity and in harmony with our planet."
"Across COP26 we have spoken truth to power," Rehman added in a tweet. "From the streets to the High Level plenary the call for justice will be heard."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.