Reporter Meets Reporter: An Interview with STV’s Ronnie Charters
Keeping true to our city’s motto “People Make Glasgow”, we decided to go out and interact with the public to get a better understanding of their knowledge and feelings towards the city hosting COP26.
On our travels, we ran into STV News Reporter and Sports Journalist, Ronnie Charters, who let us ask him questions relating to climate change and COP26.
How Does Ronnie Feel About COP26 Coming to Glasgow?
“I think it’s great. I think it’s great for the city.”
Through speaking to various local business owners near the city’s COP26 hotspot, Ronnie told us that there were mixed feelings among businesses, while some are “loving it” and “it’s giving them so much business” for others, road closures due to private escorts are proving it to be “a bit destructive”. Overall it is clear that there is a definitive buzz in the city and people are eager and excited.
Image of Glasgow Clydeside https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/40e7d75e-c671-4553-afb4-38c1d180887e
Are The Government’s Efforts Enough to Deal With Climate Change?
When we asked Ronnie his thoughts on how the government and local councils were tackling the climate crisis, he explained to us that for progress, the changes must start small with individual councils in order to lead to a nationwide success, “Councils have to be at the forefront. If every council does it, then a country does it” . Even within councils, Ronnie says that “no one is too big or too small” to get involved and be passionate. According to him, “that’s how the real change is made”.
Image of teamwork https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/0a4eb13f-da35-41a8-8c8e-774d830abc5f
What Does COP26 Mean to The Locals?
Speaking with Ronnie, we found that most of the locals know that COP26 is an important event for the nation and that it’s happening here, in Glasgow. However, most people aren’t sure “why it’s happening”. For the majority, this is another two weeks of their life that involves delays, traffic jams and somewhat of a noisier Glasgow.
Yet, COP26 means so much more than another passing memory for locals. It is a key moment for not just the world, but for humanity. It is our final chance to change things. In the words of Ronnie Charters, it’s the time to “roll up the sleeves and get it done.”
