Egypt gets ready to host COP27 climate summit

Egypt gets ready to host COP27 climate summit

Egypt gets ready to host COP27 climate summit

October 25 2022 12:32 AM



View of a road with solar light at the side of a walking area in Egyptق€™s Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh town as the city prepares to host the COP27 summit next month, in Sharm El-Sheikh.



Reuters/Cairo

The decision to hold next month’s COP27 climate summit in a highly secured tourist resort in Egypt, along with restrictions on access, is curbing civil society’s participation in the event, some prominent activists say.

The Nov 6-18 summit in Sharm El-Sheikh is the first annual UN climate conference to be held after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Campaigners see it as a crucial venue for raising the alarm over climate change and pressuring governments to act.

But they say voicing their concerns through rallies and protests as they have done in past host countries or cities will be more challenging in Egypt, where public demonstrations are effectively banned and activists have struggled to operate legally amid a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent.

Limits on accreditation and attendance badges for activists, especially from poorer nations, have also been a point of contention at previous UN climate summits.

Egypt, which has just one non-governmental