Arnd Drossel is one of many people who went to the summit to try to raise awareness of the climate crisis

Last modified on Friday, October 29, 2021 01.54 EDT

Arnd Drossel has been rolling in a 160 kg steel ball for the past three months.

The German environmental activist left his home in Paderborn on July 30 with a giant hamster ball-like device he and his son made together.

Now, he finally approached Glasgow in time before the United Nations Cop26 Climate Summit, and brought a series of environmental commitments he collected from passers-by on the way.

While waiting for the ferry in Belfast, he said: "I want to show that we are connected all over the world through our commitment to the environment."

"When I walk on a flat surface, it feels like walking on a mountain because of the weight of the ball," De Rosell said. "When I go uphill, sometimes I have to ask someone to help me push the ball up, but it also symbolizes people growing up and working together."

De Rossel is one of many activists who decided to go to the summit in a sustainable way while raising awareness of the climate emergency. Although walking and cycling are the most popular options, Glasgow can also look forward to welcoming travelers who choose other options.

"I don't know what I will do when I arrive in Glasgow. I don't have a summit pass, and I didn't even book accommodation. I have been improvising," said Agis Emanui, a Greek ultramarathon runner who departed from Athens in August. (Agis Emmanouil) said. Along the way, he has been visiting schools and talking with students about climate emergencies.

"The journey changed me," Emmanouil said. "Yesterday in Manchester, the teenagers on the street asked me what I was doing. I invited them to run with me and we talked about the climate. I wouldn't do that before."

Another activist, Dave Erasmus, and five colleagues were taking a boat from Bristol to Glasgow, recording sound samples of whales and other marine life along the way. He said: “We don’t want to just engage in rebellious activities. We don't want to just beg.

"We actually want to do something that is transformative to ourselves."

Neither Erasmus nor the other crew members had much sailing experience before setting off. "No one of us really followed the wind before, but it's all part of the changes we need to make," he said. "We need to return to a world in which we are fully aligned with the dynamics provided by the biosphere."

Once they reach the top of the mountain, Erasmus plans to play sound samples in the corridors of the convention center. "We are working hard to bring the true voice of nature to the summit," he said. "Because if you don't listen to something, you can't connect with it."

He hopes this will persuade meeting officials to spend more time discussing ocean issues. "The ocean is the last boundary on our planet, and we don't know much about it," Erasmus said. "This is our greatest friend in tackling climate change, but it is not even on the police's main agenda."

For many people who go to Cop26 and leave the least carbon footprint at the same time, the journey is more important than the destination.

"My main goal is to inspire people," said De Rossel, who hopes to show officials at the summit the promises he has gathered. "I want to show that many small changes brought together can cause waves."