People, Planet, Pint: Group to hold ‘alternative’ COP28 events in Yorkshire

The Congress of the People Planet Pints (COPPP) events will be held on Thursday, 07 December at Sheffield’s Triple Point Brewery and Imagine Leeds: the climate action hub at City Exchange in Leeds, both between 6PM and 8PM. The events are free to attend, and will serve as an informal space for local businesses and community members to come together to discuss climate issues and solutions.

Simultaneous events will also run in areas across the country including in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Canterbury, Richmond, Bearsted, Cambridge, Cheltenham, and Croydon.

The Leeds event will be hosted by John Burgess, partnership manager at rewilding and carbon offsetting firm Make It Wild.

Speaking on the decision to hold an alternative event to COP28, Mr Burgess said: “I think people are starting to ask questions about COP’s effectiveness and efficiency, and so the idea behind our COPPP event is to show that there is actually loads of really positive stuff happening.

“As much as there are negative things in the media, there are loads of positive things happening, even on a really small scale locally. It's about getting people together to see that and to share ideas, and I think hopefully that can lead to people taking more action and feeling inspired.

COP28, held in Dubai, has been subject to much controversy, with campaigners claiming that the number of delegates linked with fossil fuel producers has quadrupled since last year.

Speaking on the group’s alternative event, Adam Bastock, founder of People, Planet, Pint said: “COPPP is about starting broad conversations across all parts of the community, not just for sustainability experts, but anyone who is concerned or curious.

“There is no agenda, workshops or webinars at our events. It’s simply a chat over some drinks where you can meet others and hear about the work that is happening locally.”

Mr Bastock is also founder of carbon accounting firm Small99, which aims to help small businesses reduce their carbon footprint.

Mr Burgess of Make It Wild joined People, Planet, Pint in March, after finding that the group did not have a host for Leeds events.

He added: “As a rewilding organisation, it’s really important for us that businesses, individuals and governments take sustainability seriously, because it doesn’t matter how many trees we plant if we don’t adapt to reduce our planetary impact. That’s why hosting the People, Planet, Pint events in Leeds was a no-brainer for me - helping everyone have a place to be heard, share ideas and receive support.

“It's designed to be really casual, really informal, and about bringing together anyone that has any interest in sustainability, whether that's people who have been working in sustainability for 20 years, or people who are just curious and want to get involved and learn more.”