In 2026, two of the most important global gatherings for our planet will take place:
- Biodiversity COP17 in Armenia (19–30 October)
- Climate COP31 in Turkey (9–20 November)
These conferences shape the future of life on Earth. But for many people, they remain distant—happening behind closed doors, far away, and often disconnected from everyday life.
Citizen COP Australia is here to change that.
A COP for people, by people
Citizen COP Australia is a decentralised, people-powered movement running alongside the global COPs in 2026.
Enabled by People For Nature, it invites citizens, schools, businesses, artists, and community groups across the country to host their own events during the COP period.
Not one big conference.
But hundreds of small, local ones.
Citizen COP is built on a simple idea:
Global decisions should not be disconnected from the people they affect.
Every event—whether it’s in Brisbane, a regional town, or a remote community—becomes part of a larger, coordinated moment.
You don’t need to travel.
You don’t need to be an expert.
You just need to care.
Rethinking what climate events look like
All events follow a simple vision, and intentional values:
- Advancing the Green Zone of COPs: a complementary civic infrastructure.
- Connecting global biodiversity and climate decisions through local citizen voices.
- Walking the talk: accessible to all, no flights, no waste, all vegetarian, minimum waste, no fossil fuel support, no paid speakers.
How to get involved
You can be part of Citizen COP in a simple but meaningful way:
host your own event.
This could be:
- A workshop (e.g. Climate Fresk, Biodiversity Collage, Circular Economy Collage – we can support facilitation)
- A debate or panel discussion on climate and biodiversity issues
- A community conversation over tea, coffee or a shared meal
- A webinar or online learning session
- A school activity or youth-led climate/biodiversity session
- A trivia night focused on nature, climate and sustainability (we can provide the trivia questions and facilitation guide)
- A film screening with Q&A (we can support screening rights for films such as: Nature, Floodland, Rising Up, The Plastic Country)
- A local action or hands-on restoration activity (tree planting, clean-up, habitat restoration)
- A guided walk (nature walk, bushwalk, cultural walk, urban ecology walk)
- A parent and carers gathering to discuss climate and biodiversity futures for children
- A comedy night or storytelling event with an environmental theme
- A photography or art exhibition exploring nature, climate, place, and community
- A creative arts event (painting, installation, spoken word, or participatory community art)
- A cooking class or shared meal workshop focused on sustainable, local, seasonal or low-waste food
- An art festival celebrating nature, climate action, and community creativity
Small or large—every event matters.
To host a Citizen COP event, submit your expression of interest before August 31, 2026:
The future is not shaped only in negotiation rooms.
At global COPs, the “Green Zone” is where civil society comes together outside formal negotiations.
Citizen COP expands this idea across Australia—creating distributed “Green Zones” in communities everywhere, without flying people across the country or overseas.
It is shaped by what people understand, what they discuss, and what they choose to do—together.
Citizen COP Australia is an invitation to step into that space.
Not as observers.
But as active participants.