In honour of the UK hosting the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Didcot Girls School hosted the RET Climate Summit on Thursday 4^th November.  Students from SBS, DGS and DSF took on the roles of delegates such as Jeff Bezos, Sir David Attenborough, Elon Musk and leaders in farming and agriculture in order to negotiate policies in reducing the global temperature rise.  We were lucky enough to have Dr. Heather Comina running a climate change simulation alongside the negotiations, to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed policies or highlight any potential catastrophes we have yet to consider.

Despite drowning the climate action hawks twice due to an unforeseen rise in sea levels, the students successfully negotiated the global temperature increase down the 1.6 degrees!

The day finished with a panel of special guests including local councillors David Rouane and Sally Povolosky, sustainable Harwell’s Martin Gibson, Marine Biologist Anna Harrison and Bioregional Oxfordshire’s Nicole Lazarus.  Students were not afraid to ask our panellists challenging questions, keeping climate action in the forefront of our local leaders' attentions.  The students conducted themselves excellently, and left the event feeling hopeful and inspired to carry on the fight for brighter more sustainable future.

Miss Carter
Climate Action Lead, Didcot Girls' School