Viva!’s demand to include plant-based diets in COP28 climate commitments
The UK Government is falling dangerously short on their climate and biodiversity commitments.
Demand for meat, dairy, fish and eggs is the number one driver of wildlife loss, is fuelling the climate crisis, and threatening humanity’s own existence. Yet given the devastating impact it has on the planet, there is no mention of dietary change in our environment and climate targets.
Continued inaction will kill millions of people and animals, wild and farmed, around the world. That’s why Viva! is taking action over COP28, the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, to bring attention to our Government’s apathy to the climate breakdown and the central role our diets play.
We will be calling on the UK Government and others in power to put the topic of diet on the table and finally recognise plant-based food’s crucial role within our environmental commitments.
Viva!’s demo on Parliament Square
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Nowhere. Not in the UK’s latest Net Zero Strategy. Not in any of the UK’s pledges to the Paris Climate Agreement, the legally binding international treaty on climate change. In fact, only two countries out of the 193 signatories include any mention of dietary change. This avoidance is not just a UK problem – it’s global. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, viewed by many as the final warning for climate action, omits mentioning the needed shift to plant-based diets, instead focusing on possible ways to increase sustainable agricultural intensification and diets. Scientists agree, this simply won’t be enough to avert disaster.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference where world leaders come together to discuss the supposed ‘solutions’ to tackling the climate crisis and its impacts. In previous years, the key solution – a transition to plant-based diets – has been omitted.
Our leaders are governing the death of humanity. Without a healthy planet, we have no future. Our world is burning, wildlife is on the brink of extinction and people are dying because of climate inaction.
We need to take a stand.
Spotted – Rishi Sunak Eating the Earth
Ahead of the COP28 climate conference, Viva! took to Parliament Square to tell our world leaders to STOP EATING THE EARTH.
On Saturday 25 November, Rishi Sunak was spotted greedily devouring the planet, representing our Government’s failure to include vegan diets as part of the solution in climate pledges. As blood oozed from our dying earth, Viva! supporters held our banners high against the backdrop of the Houses of Parliament, demanding that world leaders “Stop Eating the Earth” in order to save our planet and wildlife.
Viva!’s demand was clear: put the topic of diet on the table and finally recognise plant-based food’s crucial role within our environmental commitments.
Order a Viva! demo pack and join a local COP28 action
COP28 is being held over 30 November to 12 December 2023. Take action in your local area as part of a local COP28 rally with our demo pack or hold your own event or stall.
Complete the form below to order your demo pack. Our demo pack contains all the materials you need to make an impact including posters and leaflets. Please get your demo pack order in at least 10 days before your planned event to ensure it arrives on time.
If you would like any more information, please email campaigns@viva.org.uk or call 0117 944 1000, 9am to 5pm Mon-Fri.
UK COP28 Actions to Join
We will be updating this section regularly. Stay tuned for actions to join. Please note the demos listed below are national events to join with the pack that you order.
National COP28 demos and rallies to join in with our demo pack on 9 December, 2023
- Southampton, 12:45pm to 5pm, Guildhall square
- Cardiff, 12pm, Cardiff Law Courts, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3PG GB
- Durham, 10am, Cathedral, Palace Green, Durham City
- Leeds, 11am, Leeds Briggate, Leeds Briggate, LS1 6HF
- Portsmouth, 12pm to 2pm, D-Day Museum, Clarence Esplanade, Portsmouth, PO5 3NT GB
- London, 12pm, outside BP HQ, St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4LE GB
- Bournemouth, 11am, Bournemouth Pier Approach, Bournemouth, BH2 5AA. Viva! representative will be there
- Brighton, 11am, Jubilee Square, Brighton, BN1 1EG GB
- Swansea, 12pm, Castle Square, Castle Square, Swansea, SA1 3PP GB
- Portsmouth, 12pm to 2pm, D-Day Museum, Clarence Esplanade, Portsmouth, PO5 3NT GB
- Edinburgh, 12:30pm, outside Scottish Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, EH99 1SP GB. Viva! representative will be there
- Durham, 10am, Durham Cathedral, Durham Cathedral, Durham, DH1 3EH GB
- Nottingham, 11am, Trinity Square, Trinity Square, Nottingham, NG1 4AF GB
- Sheffield, 12pm, Devonshire Green, Devonshire Street, Sheffield, S1 4GT GB
- Plymouth, 12pm, Jigsaw Park & Gardens, Eastlake Street, Plymouth, PL1 1QH GB
- Newcastle, 12:45pm, Civic Centre, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8QH GB. Viva! representative will be there
- Bangor, 2:30pm, outside the Pontio Building,Pontio, Deiniol Rd , Bangor, LL57 2TQ
- Clynfyw Farm, 9:30am, Clynfyw, Boncarth, SA37 0HF
- Wimborne Minster, 11am, Crown Mead, Wimborne Minster, BH21 1HH
- Shrewsbury, 11am, gather at the bottom, Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, SY1 1XJ
- Manchester, 11am, Victoria Statue, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, M1 1RG
- Leicester, 12pm, Clock Tower, The Clock Tower, East Gates, Leicester, LE1 1ST. Viva! representative will be there
- Belfast, 1pm, Writer’s Square, Writer’s Square, Belfast, BT12GQ
- Harborough, 1pm, The Old Grammar School, 40 The Square, Market Harborough , Market Harborough, LE16 7PA
- Race to Zero Rallies, 6 December 2o23, Carmarthenshire/Pembrokeshire/Ceredigion, West Wales, SA31 1JP/SY23 3UE/SA61 1TP
- Viva! only event: 8 December, Worchester High Street, 11:30am to 2:30pm
- Viva! only event: 9 December, Colchester’s Baptist Church, Eld Lane, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1LS, https://www.facebook.com/share/R8aegKWgHSa5tExr/?mibextid=9l3rBW
- Viva! only event: 9 December, 1pm to 4pm, Victoria Street
- Viva! only event: 17 December, London, 11am to 2pm, London Southbank
Know of a COP28 event that’s not listed? Let us know! Email campaigns@viva.org.uk
The climate crisis will only continue to worsen if governments continue to sit idly by and not address what’s on our plates and the difference it can make. Together, we have the power to enact change. Veganism is the only viable green future – join Viva! in taking a stand over COP28.
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