State Scrutiny and Midnight Disturbances Make Egypt’s COP27 the Most Chilling of Climate Talks

Last-minute hotel cancelations, late night disturbances and eavesdropping at high-level meetings are turning the COP27 climate talks in Egypt into a sinister experience for environmental activists and country negotiators alike.

The incidents — recounted to Bloomberg by several conference attendees — offer a glimpse of life in a country where protests are effectively banned and criticism of the government severely curtailed. Though Egypt has released a few hundred political prisoners this year, thousands more languish in jails, often without proper trial.

Climate campaigners, usually a major presence at the UN’s flagship two-week event, had already reported unprecedented hurdles obtaining accreditation and securing accommodation for this year’s conference. The relatively small number who made it have seen their difficulties worsen since arriving in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh nearly a week ago, according to multiple accounts from delegates, most of whom asked to remain unnamed to avoid problems with Egyptian authorities.

Egypt Crushes at Home the Climate Action it Champions Abroad

In one instance, three young government delegates were thrown onto the street late at night after refusing to pay $450 a night for a room — because they’d already paid the agreed price of $150 in advance, according to a country official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. In another, as many as 80 young activists were crammed into dirty rooms full of cigarette ends, some without locks, and were awoken in the middle of the night by hotel personnel asking for their identification.