Climate protester granddad from Sheffield offered onlookers a free 'polar bear' at COP26

Adam took 200 of these postcards to COP26 in Glasgow.

Adam Pemberton, aged 81, travelled from Sheffield to the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow to take part in protests and give away polar bears.

Well, not quite. Adam had taken with him 200 postcards featuring an image of a polar bear sculpture and bearing the message ‘we are all on thin ice.”

He had originally planned for a 20 foot model of the sculpture to be taken to Glasgow, but when the cost was estimated at between £10,000-£40,000, the postcards presented a cheaper option.

Adam has been involved with Extinction Rebellion for three years and is also a member of Sheffield band, The Yorkshire Tea Bags.

Adam said: “I was speaking to Glaswegians and offering them a free polar bear. I try to make sure I am giving them to the onlookers and not the activists - they already believe in it.

"One of the things we were trying to think about was how in London protesters were tying themselves to a tube train and making a huge inconvenience. But when people see the polar bear they smile.

“I have been involved with Extinction Rebellion for about three years. The reason I went to COP is that I have three grandchildren and they are going to feel the effects of climate change. I want to look them in the eye and tell them I did what I could.

"I am planning to continue my activism in Sheffield. I think that climate change is the most important issue that has arisen in my lifetime.”