People in Ilkley are being urged to 'clang for climate’ on Saturday as leaders gather in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit.

The aim of the action, for ten minutes at 6pm, which is taking place in communities around the country, is to send a loud and clear message, using pots, pans, buckets or bells. Campaigners stress that this is an emergency and we need governments to take immediate and decisive action on the scale so urgently needed.

The event draws inspiration from Greta Thunberg’s words: “I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.” It also draws on a long history of communities using pots and pans as a means of protesting or raising the alarm, from Spain and Argentina to Canada and Iceland.

Kath Steward, who is helping to plan the event in Ilkley, said:“We’ve all seen the scenes of terrible fires and floods in the past few months, everywhere from California to Siberia. The world is accelerating towards complete climate breakdown, and the emissions that are causing this are not falling but continuing to rise. Empty words and promises are insufficient. Net zero pledges by 2050 are deceptions. We all need to step up to the dire reality we are all facing.

“Climate Action Ilkley is supporting the national Clang for Climate action. Together with the newly formed XR Ilkley (Extinction Rebellion Ilkley) we are calling on everyone in Ilkley to sound the alarm about the Climate Emergency. We need to send a loud and clear message to the world and our political representatives that we demand decisive action”

Some people will be taking part in the event in groups in town and city centres; others will be banging pots and pans from their doorsteps. People planning to take part from their doorsteps are encouraged to let their neighbours know in advance what is happening and why.

In Ilkley people are being asked to support this action from their doorsteps or to gather on the Grove opposite Bettys by the bandstand at 6pm.

Kath said: "As David Attenborough said recently: 'The only chance we have at the forthcoming COP is if people actually say to their politicians: we want action.'

"The aim of Clang for Climate is to underline that message."