Musical COP26 criticism

In British Columbia, first there were the summer fires, with more than 1,600 fires burning nearly 8,700 square kilometers, and now the fall storms causing floods, mudslides and highway closures.

Two weeks ago, 18-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg said in Glasgow at the COP26 climate summit: "It is not a secret that COP26 is a failure. It should be obvious that we cannot solve the crisis with the same methods that got us into it in the first place."

She added: “The COP has turned into a PR event, where leaders are giving beautiful speeches and announcing fancy commitments and targets, while behind the curtains governments of the Global North countries are still refusing to take any drastic climate action."

Greta said the event could be considered a "two-week-long celebration of business as usual and blah, blah, blah."

With her comments and Bob Dylan's 1962 song "A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall" serving as inspiration, what follows is my song rewrite to describe the signs of the times:

A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall 2.0

Oh, where have you been, at COP26?

Oh, what did you see, the same politics?

I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve clearcut mountains

I've driven and I've stood near six washed out highways

I’ve stepped in the middle of seven burnt out forests

I’ve been to the shorelines of four dying oceans

I’ve been on the sea and heard the waves roarin'

And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard

And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Oh, what did you see, at COP26?

Oh, what did you see that the science predicts?

I saw six atmospheric rivers and heard a storm warnin'

I saw a highway underwater with nobody on it

I saw thousands of farm animals that have died in the floodin'

I saw thousands of volunteers provide food and shelter

I saw people grateful for the kindness of strangers

I saw the Premier say do not hoard grocery items

And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard

And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Oh, what did you hear, at COP26?

Oh, what did you hear, to get out of this fix?

Heard ten thousand talkin' and nobody listenin’

Heard beautiful speeches without drastic action

Heard the blah, blah, blah of a business celebration

Heard the voice of a teenager who called it a failure

I’m a-goin’ back ’fore the wildfires start a-burnin'

I’ll hide in the shelter of a deep mountain cavern

'Cause it’s a large, it’s a large, it’s a large, it’s a large

It’s a large heat dome's a-gonna come

For two additional songs that mention Thunberg, go to YouTube and watch videos Yung Gret - Blah Blah Blah REMIX - The Remix Bros and Bankrupt - Minor Problem (The Trump vs Greta Thunberg Song)

David Buckna, Kelowna