Last Updated on June 1, 2023 by Ecologica Life
Is COP27 another example of greenwashing? Or is allowing fossil fuel Lobbyists to join the discussion beneficial?
What Is COP27 And Why Are Fossil Fuel Lobbyists There?
COP27 is the climate summit taking place in Egypt this year. It is crucial that COP27 ends with not just empty pledges, but detailed plans of how we are going to keep the Earth below 1.5ºC, which scientists agree is necessary to prevent catastrophe. We are running out of precious time as 2022 has been recorded at a 1.1ºC increase since pre-industrial levels.
The COP27 climate summit began on November 6 in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh. The summit has received a tonne of criticism from activists and environmental groups. Renowned environmental activists Greta Thunberg expressed her scepticism about the impending climate summit, claiming it will serve as an excuse for “people in power” to exercise “greenwashing, lying, and cheating.”
There have been claims that the COP26 conference was overrun with fossil fuel lobbyists last year, and this year is much worse. According to a recent report by Global Witness, over 630 fossil fuel lobbyists have joined the ongoing COP27 climate negotiations, an increase of more than 25% from COP26 last year.
Should Fossil Fuel Delegations Be Invited?
There are benefits of bringing private interests to the negotiating table. However, these benefits risk being outweighed by the sheer size of fossil fuel delegations attending. This creates suspicions that lobbyists are attending the meetings to impede progress rather than discuss limiting their own industries.
This is a problem because the discussion at COP27 needs to be able phasing out oil and gas production. Instead, the discussion so far has been focused on cutting methane emissions from production and capturing and storing carbon from polluting power plants. While these are small steps in the right direction, they are not big enough to limit the catastrophe climate change will bring on humanity in the coming decades.
This year’s COP has received a lot of negative attention due to these problems. However, many authorities and professionals continue to hold out hope that this summit may yet result in the solutions we so desperately need.
