Despite being the ‘policeman of Africa’, climate activists tell Stuti Mishra that emerging costs and security considerations are taking them away from the sensible thing in Egypt.
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Climate activists take part in COP26 protest in Glasgow, November 2021
Next week, all eyes will be on Sharm el-Sheikh’s Egyptian hotel for the United Nations climate summit, where life-and-death decisions will be made for some of the world’s most important people.
The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP27, comes after a year of extreme weather brought on by the climate crisis that affected other peoples from Pakistan to Florida. Fair negotiations, the summit seems to be failing at the first level: ensuring the participation of activists and organizations from the most affected communities in the South.
Previous UN negotiations have been criticized for being exclusive, but it was hoped that the “Africa’s Cop”, which takes position on the continent most vulnerable to climate replenishment and least resilient to recovery, would put it at the forefront.
However, to facilitate access to voices from emerging countries of the South, activists told The Independent that participation in COP27 is even more complicated than at previous summits, such as COP26 in Glasgow, which featured large participation from civil society and youth groups.
Dozens of activists and organizations from Asia to Latin America, many of them working with victims of weather disasters, say they are forced to skip the Sharm el-Sheikh assembly despite demands that climate justice be a central issue.
“I have stored cash for the last six months so I can attend the conference,” said Mali, a 22-year-old climate activist from southern India, who asked that her last call not be used. “I was very satisfied when I discovered accommodation on my budget in August and booked it temporarily.
“But in October I received a message from the owner informing me that my ebooking had been cancelled. When I called several times to ask why, I told them they were relisting it at much higher costs than I had ever seen, and if I still searched, I can simply book it online at the new rate. “
Activists say participation in UN weather talks remains a privilege for those who can secure sufficient investment and accreditation, with very little effort to close the gap.
An organization of climate activists in South America conducted a survey among their peers to determine how many of them will be able to attend COP27 despite official UN accreditation.
They found that 93 of the 145 respondents were experiencing hosting issues, either last-minute cancellations or high prices.
“The increase in hotel costs fueled by unfair practices such as cancellation of reservations. . . worsens the already difficult situations of access to affordable and near-site housing,” said Azul Schvartzman and María Aguilar, young climate activists from Argentina and Colombia. Independent.
Similar stories have been shared through activists on social media who managed last-minute cancellations of hotels and rental properties, and then noticed them being put back on sale at much higher prices.
Carbon Pulse, a news agency, tweeted that it booked for £11,000 in November 2021. Bookings were cancelled in September and rooms were re-advertised at 3 times the price.
Earlier this year, Climate Home News reported that Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism had imposed a base price for rooms in Sharm el-Sheikh several times higher than the previous price, which raised prices ahead of the conference.
The Egyptian government denied the accusation and said there were no government ordinances in place. Soon after, the government announced 400 subsidized rooms for young activists wishing to attend the conference.
However, many activists say their reporting has been different from what the Egyptian government says.
Vikrant Srivastava, founder of the youth-run, climate-focused Nisarg Foundation, told The Independent that he had tried to book accommodation in line with the Egyptian government’s subsidized room policy, but had not gotten any confirmation for weeks.
“Even after I paid, my accommodation has been confirmed,” he added.
The Independent has reached out to the Egyptian embassy and COP27 organizers for comment.
Many African activists who were unable to attend COP26 due to pandemic-like pricing and restrictions were hoping to go to Egypt. Africa generates less than 4% of global greenhouse fuel emissions, but is the most vulnerable to climate impacts.
Christine Mbithi, a regional campaigner for Africa with the 350. org meteorological group, told The Independent that a large number of other people were unable to book rooms electronically due to exorbitant costs and that hotels saw COP27 as a lucrative opportunity.
COP27 takes place at the hotel in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
“Hotels just had to seize that moment, capitalize and make money,” he said.
“It’s a shame that this is an African policeman and that the communities most affected by climate change are not represented, they won’t be able to speak for themselves, someone else will speak on their behalf. “
Observers say Egypt’s resolution to hold COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, a small city of luxury resorts rather than the larger and more available capital of Cairo, underscores how affordability is not considered a factor.
According to the UN, more than 30,000 people are registered to participate in COP27. Egyptian officials said there would be space for protesters to gather at the summit, but only in a specially designed domain near the road, far from the convention. center.
“No one can register here,” Maj. Gen. Khaled Fouda, governor of the South Sinai region where Sharm el-Sheikh is located, said last month.
Activists say the message to them is transparent: There is plenty of ground to protest.
The considerations were echoed through Greta Thunberg, who announced she would attend this year’s summit.
“I’m going to COP27 for many reasons, but the area for civil society this year is incredibly limited,” he said in an interview during the launch of his e-book in London last week.
Srivastava says there is also a sense of concern among many activists, especially those from gender minorities, who are not welcome at the conference.
“I know other people who had something to contribute to this convention, but in the end they made the decision not to go through the concern of how the [Egyptian] government treats protesters,” he said.
“Most of those who go to Cop come from big organizations and big cities like Delhi, where you have the embassy. Someone from northeast India, someone from Odisha?Because other people from those regions can’t go to Delhi. “only to apply for a visa.
People wade into a submerged province of Balochistan in Pakistan after the worst floods in the country’s history.
Similar perspectives have been expressed through activists in Pakistan, which has experienced catastrophic floods that have displaced 33 million people. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is expected to advocate for countries to reimburse the poorest at COP27, a factor known as loss and damage.
Many Pakistani activists, who worked on the front lines of the recent climate catastrophe, do not have to attend the conference.
“Millions of others in Pakistan will spend years recovering from the floods we have faced this year. They are victims of climate change and deserve to be heard. But how many of them will manage to communicate their tragedies in Egypt?” asks Khalid Waqar. , which runs a charity in the mountainous regions of northern Pakistan.
“A convention that aims to communicate about climate replenishment doesn’t deserve to be located in a hotel, but in a position where you can see what’s going on with people. “
Climate activists take part in COP26 protest in Glasgow, November 2021
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COP27 takes place at the hotel in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
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People wade into a submerged province of Balochistan in Pakistan after the worst floods in the country’s history.
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