Greta Thunberg is set to lead the climate action protests today in Glasgow during the continuing talks at COP26. There seems to be a massive disconnect between the activists protesting the Summit and the politicians and world leaders inside - despite the fact that they are essentially pushing for the same results. Greta has famously said that she, and other youth activists, have had enough "blah blah blah" from politicians, and that what the activists are doing is "leadership", while the deals being agreed upon at COP26 are simply grandstanding by politicians. But there have been a lot of successes already from pledges, deals, and roadmaps that have been agreed upon by those at the COP, and it's disheartening to see a narrative of "us" vs "them" seeming to drive the disparity between these two groups. Today, an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people are walking from Kelvingrove Park at 11.30am before making their way to George Square in Glasgow’s city centre, coinciding with Youth and Public Empowerment Day. To help close the chasm between the world leaders and the activists, it would be nice to see some of the big players at COP26 engage in dialogue with these youth activists, both to establish mutual understanding and to prevent a continued narrative of adversity between two parties that are both fighting for our planet. Sure, the COP isn't without its fair bit of "blah blah blah", but concrete promises and the sums that have been released to make those promises a reality is better than no action at all. After all, we all want the same thing, to prevent a temperature rise higher than 1.5 degrees, to transition away from fossil fuels as an energy source globally, and to make sustainable economies the status quo. So, hopefully these protests won't simply end with more discontent between those inside the COP and those in George Square, but with an open dialogue that allows both sides to close the gap between their aims. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGryhvkKIC0