London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 02, 2025

UN Climate Summit Plagued By Glitches

UN Climate Summit Plagued By Glitches

Organising a UN climate conference -- which brings together up to 35,000 people from 195 countries each year -- is a world-class logistical challenge, and veterans of the nearly 30-year process are used to minor inconvenience.
Wheelchair struggles, scarce drinking water, $15 sandwiches and hotel price-gouging at the COP27 climate summit have sparked anger and forced host country Egypt into damage-control mode, participants at the two-week meet said.

Organising a UN climate conference -- which brings together up to 35,000 people from 195 countries each year -- is a world-class logistical challenge, and veterans of the nearly 30-year process are used to minor inconvenience.

But this year's sprawling event in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh has been plagued with problems, participants say, the most basic perhaps being accessibility.

Pratima Gurung, who works with a disability advocacy group, said she and the Disability Rights Fund's Krishna Gahatraj, who uses a wheelchair, have been left in the middle of the road "multiple times" while waiting for shuttle buses.

Organisers "haven't clearly instructed the drivers" on how to accommodate people with disabilities, said Gurung, who runs the National Indigenous Disabled Women Association in Nepal.

Though ramps abound, attendees with physical impairments say they are not standard, and that the UN climate summit has been especially difficult for them to navigate.

"As a disabled person, COP is inherently inaccessible for me," said SustainedAbility's Jason Boberg, who has attended the past five summits organised by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC.

But playing on the acronym, he has dubbed this year's event the "UN Framework Convention on Concrete Curbs".

Last year's meeting in Glasgow also saw accessibility issues, with the Israeli energy minister initially unable to enter in her wheelchair.

'Most confusing COP ever'

Another recurrent complaint in Sharm el-Sheikh is poor and scarce signage.

"This is the most confusing COP ever," said Bianca, a three-time climate summit attendee who asked to be identified only by her first name.

The size of a small town, the COP27 area is a sprawling archipelago of pavilions, meeting rooms, halls connected by bitumen roads that soak up the 30 degree Celsius (86 degree Fahrenheit) heat.

Journalists in a hangar-like media centre could be seen wrapped in jackets and shawls to protect themselves against the industrial-strength air-conditioning.

Also problematic and ironic, given the topic at hand, is a chronic shortage of drinking water.

During the first week of the conference, which runs until November 18, sparse water dispensers stood empty for hours at a stretch.

Delegates took to bringing in their own supplies, and a few were said to have ignored warnings not to drink desalinated water running from bathroom taps.

"People already under stress" should not "have to look for water all the time", said one climate COP veteran from an NGO.

Exorbitant food prices, including sandwiches going for up to $15, have been especially problematic for those on tight budgets.

"I have never seen prices like this at a COP," the NGO representative said, declining to be identified.

In response to the complaints, organisers on Thursday made drinks free and slashed food prices in half for the rest of the conference.

Well before COP27 kicked off on November 6, alarm bells were ringing as the tourist town's hotels suddenly tripled or quadrupled room rates, even for those with confirmed bookings.

Some delegates arrived to find their reservations had been cancelled.

"People are now stranded, sleeping on the road, in bus stations," youth activist Olumide Idowu from Nigeria wrote on Twitter Monday.

At a press briefing Thursday, special representative of the COP27 presidency, Wael Aboulmagd, told reporters that the "one case where people were asked to leave" will "not happen again", and that "government officials have intervened."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
×