Egypt COP27 summit to address energy transition

Cairo, Oct 2 (EFE).- The COP27, the United Nations’ global summit to address the climate emergency, kicks off on Sunday in Sharm el Sheikh with the focus on addressing how to finance the energy transition and pay for the damage caused by climate change.

Around 30,000 people, including many world leaders, are expected to travel to the Egyptian Red Sea for the event which runs from November 6 to 18.

Heads of state and government are due to participate in high-level meetings and political round tables on November 7 and 8, which will be followed by nearly two weeks of talks, academic conferences, and meetings with civil society organizations.

The host of the summit, Egypt, has said that its main objective is to get the world’s wealthiest and most industrialized countries to fulfill their promise of delivering roughly 100 billion dollars so that lower-income nations can progress with their energy transition.

Delegates will also be hoping to secure investment from the private sector, as well as moving forward on “loss and damage”, so that large economies are held accountable for the damage caused to the environment and pay compensation to more vulnerable countries that are suffering the consequences of global warming.

Both the Egyptian presidency and the UN have warned of the danger that the crisis unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the tension between opposing blocs could prevent important agreements from being reached.

The political situation in Egypt, where authorities rarely allow public protests and have been accused of not protecting human rights, could also cast a shadow over the summit.

International organizations and NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have warned that the government of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has hampered access to the event for activists who have been critical of his rule and claimed that the summit will only serve as “greenwashing” for the authoritarian regime.

Leading global environmental leaders like Greta Thunberg will not attend the summit in protest against the human rights situation in the host country.

Egypt’s government has announced that it will allow demonstrations in designated areas. EFE amr/aef/ks