Arresting Nessie, Greta getting rowdy, and other hilarious highlights from COP26

Glasgow, UK - Even though two weeks of "blah blah blah" and greenwashing made the COP26 climate summit a frustrating time, there was also no shortage of comedy – intentional or otherwise – in Glasgow.

November 12 saw more protests, with one group asking which side President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson are even on.
November 12 saw more protests, with one group asking which side President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson are even on.  © IMAGO / ZUMA Press

Humor is the best defense, and in poking fun at leaders whose empty promises have been the biggest joke of all is only fair.

Besides, if the climate summit was like a comedy show, might as well embrace the funnier side of it all.

From Greta Thunberg swearing like a true Glaswegian, to a smelly Australian protest, activists, delegates, and the media did their best to stay chipper.

There were even protesting Glaswegians demanding an end to climate change so that Glasgow stays "cold, wet, and grey", and an epic battle of the ages between two projectors illuminating one of the venue's buildings.

And what about the important activist work that Greta Thunberg has been doing to lift people's spirits as they march around cold and wet Glasgow's streets?

Protest marches are one thing, but the comedy gold is in the protest actions, like an inflatable Loch Ness monster being impounded by overzealous cops, or heaps of dung in front of the Australian Finance Minister's office, protesting the lack of spine from Australia's "leadership".

Then there was the most epic face-off from the summit, when dueling projector teams had a light battle on the side of one of the COP26 venue's buildings.

And in case you're wondering what the politicians and negotiators at COP26 were up to for two weeks, people on the ground managed to snag exclusive evidence of Zimbabwe's robust action in Glasgow, focusing on alternative "fuels".

There was also the moment the most important US delegate at the climate summit, John Kerry, got caught on the wrong side of a police road block, and had to rely on locals pointing out who he was.

Inspired by the climate conference, The Shovel, Australia's version of The Onion, came up with a typically biting satire of the pledges coming out of COP26.

And last but not least, someone already came up with a meme to wrap up the whole conference and its efforts to stop climate change, thank goodness.

As the saying goes, if you don't laugh, you'll cry...

Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Press

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