Students at the University of Sheffield have been painting banners and signs as they prepare to take part in a city-wide march on climate justice tomorrow afternoon.
The COP28 Rally has been organised by the South Yorkshire Climate Alliance and will see activists march through Sheffield from the Devonshire Green to City Hall.
Welfare and Sustainability Officer for the Student Union, Jo Campling, said it’s vital that students make their voices heard: “Student voice is essential and it’s so important that we take our future into our own hands.
“Students are super passionate but we’ve all grown up in a very difficult political time, but we do have a voice and we have to keep shouting, and I understand how challenging that can be and it can feel very bleak but we’ve got to do what we can.”
Adan Akhtar, 18, an Aerospace Engineering student from UAE, will be attending the rally on Saturday, despite also having an exam to sit that day.
Adan (left) and Jo (right) will be displaying their banners on Saturday (Source: Tom Burton)
He said: “Where I grew up we never had protests because they (UAE Government) literally just banned protesting, so I never really protested before, and after coming to Sheffield and seeing the fact that we can protest makes you want to join in and be there.
“When you see a lot of other students who are also there it gives you a bit of hope.”
The decision to host COP28 in UAE, a nation with vested interests in fossil fuels, has been met with criticism amid concerns the gulf nation plans to use the summit for political reasons.
While Miss Campling has been sceptical of the effectiveness of COP summits in general, she believes that students, and the general public, have to unite on such crucial issues.
She said: “I think that collective voice is hugely powerful and all big social change in history has come from mobilisation of people and protest and a range of other tactics.
“No one protest is gonna fix it, but it’s effective, and it’s fun and it brings hope to people and I think that’s really powerful.”
The rally comes in wake of the University recently placing 24th out of more than 1,400 institutions in the 2024 QS World University Sustainability Rankings, as well as 7th in the UK and 12th in Europe.
In November 2020, the University launched its sustainability strategy which aims to have a net-zero campus by 2030 and net-zero across all activities by 2038 and 100% renewable procured electricity on campus.
The rally will begin at midday tomorrow on the Devonshire Green, with students meeting on the concourse outside the union at 11.30am.
