G7 summit: Edinburgh activists to protest against country leaders 'greenwashing' during climate conference

A protest against country leaders “greenwashing” has been organised in Edinburgh in line with the G7 summit this weekend.

The demonstration – led by activist group Edinburgh COP 26 Coalition – will take place outside Holyrood from 11am on Saturday and will last until midday.

It is understood the rally will be in solidarity with other activists in Cornwall demonstrating against ‘greenwashing’ the same day the leaders meet to prepare for the COP26 Climate Change talks in Glasgow in November.

An activist at a climate change protest in Scotland.

A spokeswoman for the group said: “To ‘greenwash’ their image, the G7 leaders will say fine words about tackling climate change but do little to bring about desperately needed change.

"Their plans and pledges fail to keep us below 1.5C warming, with most putting us past 3C, which is a death sentence for millions around the planet.

“Bring climate justice to the G7 and support those rallying in Cornwall – join the protest in Edinburgh.”

“G7” stands for “Group of Seven”, referring to the seven member countries of the group that will be meeting at the summit from 11 to 13 June.

These include the UK, the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan which are all countries considered to be those with “advanced economies and open societies”.

For this year’s Cornwall summit, however, the UK has also invited India, Australia, South Korea and South Africa as guest countries.

Representatives from the EU will also be in attendance.

The goal of this year’s summit, according to the G7 UK website, is to:

“Help the world fight, and then build back better from coronavirus and create a greener, more prosperous future”.

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