Promise to the Planet FAQ

#PromiseToThePlanet is a global, environmental, social action campaign running from June to November 2021. Together, 57 million Scouts will take hands-on action to reduce climate change and urge world leaders to commit to ambitious targets and policies.

#PromiseToThePlanet has been developed by Scouts from over 20 countries across the world with staff and volunteers from the World Organization of the Scout Movement, Scouts UK, and WWF. 

Climate change is one of the biggest issues the world faces today. You don’t have to be a scientist to know that climate change is a big deal. We’re youth led, and our young people told us that taking action to fight for the environment is important to them. They know whose future is at stake.

#PromiseToThePlanet is open to all young people and adults, whether they’re currently involved with Scouts or not.

You can take part as an individual, with your Scout group (if you’re part of one), or with family and friends. All you need to do is choose an action, take part, tell us what you did using our interactive world map, and use social media to encourage other people to get involved. 
A group of young people from across the world will present this action at COP26, where they’ll ask decision makers to join us and make their promise to the planet. 

COP26 is an event where leaders (and climate change experts) from lots of different countries talk about climate change and what countries are going to do about it. 

COP stands for Conference of the Parties. This year is the 26th COP – that’s why it’s called COP26. 
When countries are at COP, they talk about how they can reduce the emissions that cause global warming, and how they can help people adapt to the climate change that’s already happening.  
 

A group of Scouts from over 20 countries across the world worked together (with the support of WWF) to create a set of asks. Global leaders must agree to these asks at COP26 (and stick to them afterwards) to make sure that climate change is reduced. 

We want to call global leaders ‘in’, not ‘out’ – because it’s their world too. We’re telling them three things: 

1. We must not allow global warming to rise by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. 
2. We must commit to ambitious policies that protect people and nature and build a climate-resilient society. 
3. We must commit to making policies that are truly fair: they must require the largest contributors to climate change to take the most action.

Different countries will take different actions to make this happen – but we need global agreement now, before it’s too late. 

Scouts will do two things through #PromiseToThePlanet. They’ll take local, hands-on actions to help make their asks a reality and they’ll use their voices to speak to decision makers and start change happening locally. It’s time for us to take a stand and make our #PromiseToThePlanet. 
 

The actions for #PromiseToThePlanet are split into four areas: recover, recycle, reduce, and rethink. Each area has two suggested actions: a hands-on action and a use your voice action – but it’s up to you what you do to fight climate change. You can see all the actions and how to take part by heading over to the campaign page on the Scouts UK or WOSM website.

You can log your action by going to the campaign webpage on Scouts UK or WOSM websites. 

If you’re in the UK, taking part in #PromiseToThePlanet will help you work towards the Protecting Our Environment theme of A Million Hands and achieve your Community Impact Staged Activity Badge. If you’re outside of the UK, this will help you work towards some of the Earth Tribe challenges. You don’t have to stop making a difference once you’ve recorded your action. We promise to keep fighting, by taking regular social action through local, national, or international initiatives. A Million Hands and Earth Tribe are both great ways to make a difference throughout the year.

By taking part in #PromiseToThePlanet, you’ll be working towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: Climate action. Depending on the actions you take, you may also work towards SDGs 11, 12, 14 and 15. Find out more about the SDGs and how Scouts are taking action on the Scouts for SDGs website. 

As part of #PromiseToThePlanet, we’ve partnered with WWF – they’ve helped our young people create the resources and policy asks. WWF is the world’s leading independent conservation organisation. Their mission is to make sure that people and nature can thrive together, now and in the future.  

Yes! You can buy your badge and merchandise from Scout Store.  
If you don’t want to buy something new, then why not go green and make your own merchandise using what you have at home? 

You don’t have to stop once you’ve taken your action. Why not see if you could complete all the actions for this campaign? You could also encourage others to take part by sharing what you did and letting them know how they can get involved. 

Once the campaign is over, you could take part in Earth Tribe – or in A Million Hands if you’re in the UK. Challenge yourself to help others and take action regularly as part of your Scout meetings. 

• A Million Hands
• Earth Tribe
• Climate calculator

We hope that global leaders will have agreed to our asks by the end of COP. We need them to start implementing suitable changes for their countries, while working globally to make sure that climate change is reduced. This work must be equitable – the biggest contributors to climate change must take the most action.
As Scouts, we’ll continue to protect our environment by taking regular social action through A Million Hands, Earth Tribe, and other global, national, and local initiatives.