Eco-activists demand action as leaders meet
Environmental activists have called on industrialised nations to pay for the impact of climate change and to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy in the largest protest yet at the Cop27 summit in Egypt.
Demonstrators marched through the conference’s “Blue Zone”, which is considered a UN territory. They chanted, sang and danced in an area not far from where climate talks are taking place.
John Kerry, US special presidential envoy for climate, said yesterday the US was supportive of moves to address loss and damage, one of the most contentious issues at these talks.
“We have engaged with our friends to work through the proposals,” he told a press conference at Cop27. “We want to engage.”
Loss and damage refers to the impact of weather so severe that countries cannot adapt to them, and the negotiations revolve around how to provide financial assistance for developing nations afflicted by weather which can destroy their infrastructure and tear apart their social fabric.
Meanwhile, hundreds of activists protested in Edinburgh yesterday. Becky Kenton-Lake, Coalition Manager at Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, which organised the demo, said: “Compared with the accelerating real-world impacts of the climate crisis, these talks remain stuck in the slow lane. We need faster progress.”