From Scotland to Sarawak: pop-up exhibition spotlights global stories of climate resistance

Free event runs from 5th – 12th November 2021 at the Tramway in Glasgow.

The world’s most powerful and photographed leaders have been gathering in Glasgow for COP26. From Friday 5th November 2021, Friends of the Earth will visually showcase international stories of resistance and resilience from people at the frontline of the climate crisis. These stories of communities resisting the reality of an over-heated planet will starkly contrast the stage-managed climate talks a few miles away.

From Scotland to Sarawak spotlights the lives of people at the sharp end of climate breakdown, including marginalised and Indigenous Peoples who have contributed least to its causes. Their stories are united by a common theme: the offer of hope in working with others to fight climate injustice. They demonstrate that individual efforts alone can be powerful, but by coming together communities can realise their true collective potential to become unstoppable.

• Voices of strength and resilience amplified throughout the exhibition include:
• The Doevi Kope community in Togo mobilising to prevent oil exploitation
• The Palestinian women running renewable energy projects
• The Indigenous Peoples of Sarawak protecting Malaysian forests
• The Taboli-Manobo’s demands for recognition of their indigenous land rights to block the expansion of industrial agriculture in the Philippines
• The rapid #SOSCampesinado response, to support local food production in Spain during Covid-19
• The Falkirk community-led campaign against petrochemical giant Ineos in Scotland

Shaunna Lee Rushton, curator of From Scotland to Sarawak, said:

“These stories act as a reminder that the only solutions to the climate crisis are the ones that work for us all, which is especially pertinent as world leaders gather less than two miles away.

“The past 18 months have highlighted the stark inequalities that were already so prevalent in our societies, and how they’re exacerbated when resources are limited and our health and livelihoods threatened. But it is communities who have offered us hope, through acts of solidarity and mutual aid, which have long been a crucial response to climate disasters.

“From Scotland to Sarawak, and across the 18 countries represented in this exhibition, the drastically unfair impacts of climate breakdown are recognised. But despite these trying and varying circumstances, resistance is happening in local communities right across the world. Our connectedness is what offers us hope.”

Sara Shaw, Friends of the Earth International climate justice programme coordinator, said:

“The stories shared by resilient communities throughout this exhibition are testament to the strength and resolve of the human spirit, particularly when working together to fight injustice.
“Clearly, climate catastrophe is not the great equaliser. It exacerbates existing global inequalities and crises, meaning those who’ve done least to cause it are hardest hit.

“The world is watching the presidents, prime ministers and state leaders in Glasgow who are there to discuss ways to limit the full force of climate disaster. The world’s wealthiest nations must acknowledge their historic and ongoing contribution to the global crisis by providing the scale of climate finance needed to enable frontline communities to adapt and pursue renewable energy for people everywhere.”

Communities impacted by an offshore liquified natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, which the UK government has pledged $1.15bn towards via UK Export Finance, are among those who share their stories.
As well as driving further climate and ecological breakdown, the LNG project has fuelled local conflict and human rights abuses.

Thousands of people have been killed, almost 700,000 displaced, and many left without homes or livelihoods. 550 families have been directly displaced by the LNG infrastructure via corporate land grabs, and the blocking of access to fishing grounds.

Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland is taking the UK government to court, to challenge the decision to finance the LNG project, via Judicial Review. This hearing is scheduled for 7 – 9 December 2021. However, the government could decide at any time to withdraw its funding and support from the LNG project.

The exhibition will also feature animations by Irish artist Zoe Shields, who has brought to life the outpouring of solidarity in response to Covid-19, as well as a podcast area where visitors can listen to stories from the Netherlands, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Mozambique.

Open to the public each day from 10am until 5pm, it runs until Sunday 12th November. Following the exhibition at Tramway in Glasgow, the stories will move to a digital space at foe.uk/climate-exhibition.

ENDS