From COP to AlterCOP: Join Me for the People-Powered One

For years, I was part of the so-called COPs. I represented Australia at the global climate conferences where negotiators spend sleepless nights arguing over commas. While emissions kept climbing, I helped write dodgy paragraphs. I even chaired some of the negotiations. I remember at COP18 in Doha I didn't go back to my hotel for three days. I slept sporadically in a prayer room while the planet burned!

Don't get me wrong. I'm a firm believer in the importance of the United Nations. Global problems like climate change need global solutions. And I know how hard it is to build consensus. But I also know how little can be delivered when politics, power and petro-states like Australia get in the way. Yes, we might project a warm and fuzzy image. But in reality, as the world’s largest coal exporter, Australia is just as bad as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and other fossil fuel powers when it comes to blocking progress.

That's why this year, I’m happy heading somewhere far more real and rewarding than the latest COP in Brazil. As Guest of Honour on Day One of AlterCOP 30 Australia in Brisbane, I'll be speaking on "A First Nations Vision for Caring for Country in 2050.”

AlterCOP is the global-grassroots climate summit. Volunteer-powered, locally grounded and globally connected, it's where people everywhere can join, contribute and take action for a just and safe future. Across four days in Brisbane, we'll be discussing climate justice, decarbonisation, energy transition, circular economies and community resilience.

It's where your voice, ideas and actions can truly count. It's what the world needs. People-powered climate action rooted in truth-telling, compassion, and community. It’s about action from the ground up, not compromise from the top down.

As a D’harawal man and senior climate negotiator, I’ve seen both worlds: the policy rooms and the communities on the ground, the government promises and the reality. At AlterCOP, I see a future. I see active hope. I see a movement led by those who act from love of Country and community, not love of profit.

If you care about a safe climate, justice, and hope, this is where you belong too. Join me and other like-minded people for free in Brisbane IRL or online.

👉🏽 https://altercop.com/australia

Oh and yes, I'll be riding my eBike from Canberra. But that's another story so I'll tell it later.

#AlterCOP30 #ClimateAction #ActiveHope #CaringForCountry #FirstNations #Regeneration #eBike4Australia

Gregory Andrews chairing carbon markets negotiations at COP18 on Doha.