My day at COP26: 'Being the local host is a really important job'

Kat Jones is creating a warm welcome in Glasgow for COP26 visitors - in her role as project manager for Stop Climate Chaos Scotland. In the latest personal story from the Glasgow summit, she explains how she is helping to make people at the UN climate conference feel at home.

Even without inflated prices, there are lots of people who need to come to COP who can't afford to stay in £100-a-night hotels - people coming from the countries most affected by climate change, young activists, and smaller NGOs (non-governmental organisations) which don't have much funding.

We've set up the Homestay Network so they aren't excluded. As well as offering space in private homes, hosts are helping people find their way around, recommending places to visit and serving them local food. It's not just about finding environmentally-friendly and affordable accommodation for delegates who are struggling - it's also about cultural exchange and friendship. Glasgow is such a welcoming city.

Often, at previous COPs, churches and village halls opened their doors and large groups could just take their sleeping bags along. But, because of Covid, it's much harder to do that. With the Homestay Network you've got one person staying with one family - it's a much safer way of providing accommodation.

We've had an unprecedented level of demand - almost 12,000 overnight stays have been booked. And not just from small youth organisations, but also from people we really didn't expect - from richer nations, climate scientists and things like that.

I had some people from Madagascar staying with me and they left this morning, so I'm going to Queen Street Station today to meet some new guests and take them back to my house. They're young people from Pacific islands who'd been offered £200-a-night accommodation - that was just too much.

My Day at COP26:

• 'I was nervous. Breathe I said. I looked up to see Biden'

• 'My island home is threatened - we have no hill to run to'

• ‘My dog doesn't care if Biden is here’

• 'It's my job to keep the summit fed - sustainably'

When I went to COP in Madrid two years ago, there was no single place to find information about what was going on - it was all by word of mouth and that made it really difficult to navigate. We've been working non-stop for weeks to upload details of events happening inside and outside COP - whether it's a few people around a dinner table or a massive launch party for a film by David Attenborough - on to the Climate Fringe website where people can find out everything that's happening.

There are thousands of really amazing things going on and so much excitement around Glasgow right now. We're also hosting open-mic ceilidhs in the evenings where anyone can bring their songs and stories. It's been incredible - a wonderful mix of artists and musicians and poets. It feels like the absolute antidote to the plenaries (the sessions attended by all delegates), panel discussions and all the networking inside COP - which have none of the warmth or welcome or atmosphere.

There's just so much solidarity and love from people in Glasgow for the delegates coming to COP26 to sound the alarm for climate justice. It's been really amazing to be part of it.

As told to Sarah McDermott

The COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. Almost 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.

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