Former President Barack Obama gave a speech at a climate change summit Monday in Glasgow, Scotland, in which he talked about being in the “Emerald Isles.” But, as observers pointed out, “Emerald Isle” is a name synonymous with Ireland, not Scotland.
The comment came toward the end of his 45-minute speech during the United Nations COP26 summit, right before he quoted Othello by William Shakespeare, who hailed from England.
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“Since we’re in the Emerald Isles here, let me quote the bard, William Shakespeare,” Obama said. “‘What wound,’ he writes, ‘did ever heal but by degrees.’ Our planet has been wounded by our actions. Those wounds won’t be healed today or tomorrow or the next, but they can be healed by degrees. If we start with that spirit, if each of us can fight through the occasional frustration and dread, if we pledge to do our part and then follow through on those commitments, I believe we can secure a better future.”
The speech was mostly directed at the younger generations, encouraging them to keep up the fight against climate change for the long haul.
“Solving a problem this big, this complex, and this important has never happened all at once,” Obama said.
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Obama’s reference to the Emerald Isles did not go unnoticed by the audience or members of the press.
“A tiny bit of me died there when Obama said we are here in the ‘Emerald Isles,'” tweeted Mandy Rhodes, the editor of Holyrood Daily in Edinburgh, Scotland.
A tiny bit of me died there when Obama said “we are here in the Emerald Isles” [we are in Glass Cow] #COP26
— mandy rhodes (@holyroodmandy) November 8, 2021
“Emerald Isle? Can only conclude that the usually polished @BarackObama is maybe a little jet lagged,” tweeted crime reporter Jane Hamilton from the Daily Record. “Still, great speech from one of the best orators on the planet #COP26.”
Emerald Isle? ??♀️Can only conclude that the usually polished @BarackObama is maybe a little jet lagged. Still, great speech from one of the best orators on the planet ?#COP26
— Jane Hamilton (@janehamilton22) November 8, 2021
