As news broke of the 600+ fossil fuel lobbyists at this year’s summit, climate justice activists from Asia, Africa and the Americas protested in the Blue Zone’s main courtyard demanding the UNFCCC police the polluters. “We are here representing millions of people demanding that polluters be kicked out of the police and policy-making arena. For more than half a century they kept the truth about human harm. They delayed action out of greed. You can let the criminals set the rules, we need to reset the system. We are calling them,” said Aderonke Lge from Public Participation Africa. Nishant Kumar Alag from India added: “We call them polluters and offenders, but we are talking about criminals. We demand the right to clean water, air and land, and no safe havens for criminals.” As delegates hurried past, heading for another busy day in the main negotiating rooms and event spaces, protesters chanted: “All we’re saying is kick the polluters out.” Many people are wearing white today in solidarity with the thousands of land and environmental defenders who have been killed and criminalized around the world, and with the tens and thousands of political prisoners here in Egypt and around the world. Exorbitant hotel and travel costs, visa delays and accreditation limits have made accessing Cop27 incredibly challenging for activists and grassroots leaders, including those from Africa – despite it being called African Cop. Colombia’s Gina Cortes Valderrama said lobbyists were everywhere, while those on the front lines of the climate crisis could not access the police. “It’s a clear message about what the colonial structures here value and prioritize.” As US officials, including John Kerry, hold events on the climate justice stand – a space and term that activists say polluters and their allies are trying to co-opt, a host of protests and actions are planned in the blue zone. Updated at 09:31 GMT Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature We promised you the full story on the fossil fuel lobbyists and here it is. There are more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists at the Cop27 climate conference, an increase of more than 25% since last year and outnumbering every frontline community affected by the climate crisis. My colleague Ruth Michaelson has the story: Which countries have sent the most delegates to Cop27? Carbon Brief did an interesting analysis on who has sent the most delegates to the conference. By far the leading country is the UAE, which has sent over 1000 (compared to the UK, which has sent under 100). Next is Brazil, which has sent 574. The deep dive is great and worth reading in full, but it’s also interesting to note that the cops have become more gender balanced as time has gone on. Their analysis says: While the average delegation at COP1 was 88% male and 12% female, this has changed over time. For example, COPs 23 to 25 all had an average gender balance of 62% male to 38% female, while COP26 had a balance of 64%-36%. The provisional gender balance of COP27 is similar, with 63% men to 37% women. Patrick Greenfield The major breaking news at Cop27 this morning is that water and fizzy drinks are now free and food is half price after delegates struggled to get enough food or drink in the first few days of the summit. The move was greeted with subdued optimism by those in attendance in Egypt, who had previously complained that limited food and drinks were being sold at New York and London prices. Great news on #Cop27 Water and carbonated drinks are now free. Food is half price. A spokesman tells me it could be the key to successful talks after days of supply problems. “If you don’t provide good food, you won’t get a good result,” he says. pic.twitter.com/ae0zsR9gWc — Patrick Greenfield (@pgreenfielduk) November 10, 2022 “Having been to these cops for quite some time, good food is always a problem. If you don’t provide good food, you won’t get a good result,” said a lady in line. “We’re not really Coca-Cola drinkers, but it’s the only option. Water is still not that available. It’s not easy to find,” added a bystander enjoying a bottle of the fizzy drink after the rule change. Another representative was pleased with the price change, but feared supply issues would not improve. “I didn’t eat every meal yesterday because the queues were too long and I wanted to go to my meetings. It’s not going to change in the next couple of days,” he said. Updated at 09:47 GMT While we await more information from the talks and panels, I have what might be a contender for the Policeman-related ‘quote of the day’. UK Environment Secretary Trudy Harrison has rebuked her colleagues for saying the country is the most depleted nature in the world. “It is not correct to say that we are the most nature-depleted country in the world,” he told MPs. “According to the measure, we are 142 out of 201.” Global stuff! Updated at 09:49 GMT There are a lot of interesting protests going on today, from a woman in an ornate costume proclaiming “the flood is coming”, to the vegans who were there every day (many of the food on offer seems to be beef and chicken based). Protesters at Cop. Photo: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Vegan protesters at Cop. Photo: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Updated at 09:48 GMT
UK politicians trumpet ‘climate achievements’ on the schmooze circuit
Although UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made it back to England fairly quickly after his underwhelming conference speech on Monday, there are still a few politicians knocking around. Chris Skidmore, the UK’s net zero czar, is speaking at six different events during Cop, and seems to be thoroughly enjoying his time in Sharm El-Sheikh. It tells me: I am delighted to be at Cop27 as part of the UK delegation and to talk about net zero assessment and the progress we have made. So far, the review has held 38 evidence roundtables and received input from across the UK – along with more than 1,800 submissions of written evidence. I am keen to maintain the level of cooperation internationally, to show that the UK remains an international leader in our climate policies and the review is a fantastic opportunity to put in place new policies and frameworks that can ensure we can go further and faster in reducing emissions – and showing other nations how they can achieve and implement their own net zero goals. I will be speaking on the UK stand at a number of events and will also be speaking separately at the Climate Leadership Summit, the UK Corporate Leaders Group and a series of events on how to build partnership and demonstrate the wider societal benefits of what can achieve net zero for local communities. Chris Skidmore addressing an audience at Cop27. Photo: Chris Skidmore Also at the conference is the business secretary, Grant Shapps, who has been embroiled in a firestorm with other delegates in the interim over questions about exactly how the UK plans to be a “world leader” on climate while tapping more oil and North Sea natural gas. recommendations of the panel on climate change. I’m also told that Thérèse Coffey, the UK environment secretary, will soon be heading over with her team to speak at the conference about nature-based solutions. Perhaps we will hear more about plans for payments for nature-friendly farms – currently on ice – and how we can be world leaders on this issue when there are currently hundreds of environmental laws at risk of being lost to statute due to of Brexit. Updated at 09:29 GMT
‘We demand clean air and water’ – protesters slam fossil fuel ‘criminals’
Nina Lachani As news broke of the 600+ fossil fuel lobbyists at this year’s summit, climate justice activists from Asia, Africa and the Americas protested in the Blue Zone’s main courtyard demanding the UNFCCC police the polluters. “We are here representing millions of people demanding that polluters be kicked out of the police and policy-making arena. For more than half a century they kept the truth about human harm. They delayed action out of greed. You can let the criminals set the rules, we need to reset the system. We are calling them,” said Aderonke Lge from Public Participation Africa. Nishant Kumar Alag from India added: “We call them polluters and offenders, but we are talking about criminals. We demand the right to clean water, air and land, and no safe havens for criminals.” As delegates hurried past, heading for another busy day in the main negotiating rooms and event spaces, protesters chanted: “All we’re saying is kick the polluters out.” Many people are wearing white today in solidarity with the thousands of land and environmental defenders who have been killed and criminalized around the world, and with the tens and thousands of political prisoners here in Egypt and around the world. Exorbitant hotel and travel costs, visa delays and accreditation limits have made accessing Cop27 incredibly challenging for activists and grassroots leaders, including those from Africa – despite it being called African Cop. Colombia’s Gina Cortes Valderrama said lobbyists were everywhere, while those on the front lines of the climate crisis could not access the police. “It’s a clear message about what the colonial structures here value and prioritize.” As US officials, including John Kerry, hold events on the climate justice stand – a space and term that activists say polluters and their allies are trying to co-opt, a host of protests and actions are planned in the blue zone. Updated at 09:31 GMT
Record number of fossil fuel lobbyists at Cop27
A new analysis by Global Witness, Corporate Europe Observatory and Corporate…
