Why I was not at COP27

Last year I was privileged to attend COP26 in Glasgow as an official observer for the Open University. I’d heard plenty of negative comments about the previous COPs from activist friends, but I was glad to have the opportunity to experience one for myself. It was an insightful even fascinating week. You can read my blog here:

COP26 an activist's viewpoint – My experiences inside the COP26 global climate summit in 2021 (wordpress.com)

I’m not a scientist or a politician with a wealth of knowledge about these events. So, I decided to go last year with an open a mind and be as engaged and optimistic as I could. However, I am an activist and I know greenwashing when I see it; I know when what is being called for by those most in need is not being delivered. Ultimately, not being at COP27 in Egypt this year has left me with no sense of missing out.

In 2021, the COP was taking place at home, and it felt right to get engaged. This year it felt more important not to fly. Our observer team from last year was asked whether or not we wanted to attend COP27, and the response was a unanimous no. Some have already made the decision to no longer fly; others, including myself, would have liked any potential budget to go towards delegates from developing and nearby nations. Egypt’s poor human rights record is also an ongoing problem of course.

The COP needs to have observers to hold the negotiations accountable, but there are plenty closer to the event to do this. Perhaps COP observers should be made up of some of those who found it impossible to get to Glasgow last year or, when they did, found themselves either shut out of rooms or ignored.

I am wondering whether the voices of poorer and more vulnerable nations will once again be welcomed inside the COP but not listened to; also, how many lobbyists from organisations like EACOP will be in attendance?

The BBC and others have already reported that there are more representatives attending linked to fossil fuel interests than attendees from the ten most impacted countries (COP27: Sharp rise in fossil fuel industry delegates at climate summit - BBC News). The country with the biggest delegation is next year’s host country, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The fact that this oil-rich nation is due to host the COP next year means I’m already losing faith in it.

Is COP27 the moment when developed nations stop arguing about adaptation and mitigation and start funding it? Are pledges on deforestation being met yet? Will the parties’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs) ever live up to what they agreed in 2015?

As I learned during COP26, the Net Zero in 2050 pledge is largely pointless: It’s the NDCs in the next 10 years that really count as emissions, of course, are cumulative, not definitive in any given year i.e., waiting until 2049 and suddenly going net zero wouldn’t keep us anywhere near 1.5 degrees but would = total climate disaster.

Will this COP simply end with asking nations for stronger NDCs next time, again? Are nations still talking about phasing down coal instead of outright banning it. Personally, I also want to know whether the Scottish government will just keep talking about joining the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance and not do it. On the plus side, Scotland has just announced an increase in its share of funding for loss and damages.

Will more representatives from small island states have to shed tears as they publicly address the issue of their country disappearing under water?

I’m staying at home this year, and perhaps more can be done here. Next week I’m helping high school students run a Mock COP again thanks to The Open University. I’m also marching along with thousands of others. There’s a question over whether marching achieves anything but it’s many times less financially and carbon costly than physically going to the COP this year. You can see what I wrote about marching last year here: People’s Weekend – COP26 an activist's viewpoint (wordpress.com)

Cynicism about the COP is certainly no excuse to stop caring about the planet. I will continue being an activist. I’m never going to be able to influence what happens on the world stage, but perhaps I can influence my friends, and together we can influence our government. I can only hope that one day, our government will positively influence the rest of the world at these negotiations. Perhaps, it already has behind closed doors, in ways that we’ll never know about. If this is the case, it hasn’t yet been enough.

As Kumi Naidoo said at COP26: “Get up tomorrow and work twice as hard”.

This article is an opinion piece written by Rosalie Faithfull, Team Assistant, FASS Deanery, in November 2022 as a response to a call for articles from our OU colleagues, that relate to climate change from their own disciplinary or lived experience.