Greta Thunberg to skip Cop27 saying talks are used for 'many different kinds of greenwashing'

Greta Thunberg said the Cop conferences “are not really meant to change the whole system”, but instead encourage gradual progress.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has said she will skip Cop27 talks in Egypt, criticising the global summit as a forum for “greenwashing”.

The Cop27 climate change summit takes place over two weeks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh, where governments of the world will look to build on pledges made on climate action.

“I’m not going to Cop27 for many reasons, but the space for civil society this year is extremely limited,” she said during a question-and-answer session at the launch of her latest book in London. The 19-year-old activist had previously tweeted to express solidarity with “prisoners of conscience” being held in Egypt. 

We stand in solidarity with prisoners of conscience in Egypt & joined @copcivicspace petition urging Egypt to open civic space and release everyone arbitrarily detained ahead of #COP27
Sign the petition urging @AlsisiOfficial @Cop27P to #FreeThemAllhttps://t.co/07ElEovDpy

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) October 20, 2022

The UN’s 27th conference on climate opens in the Red Sea resort town on November 6. “The Cops are mainly used as an opportunity for leaders and people in power to get attention, using many different kinds of greenwashing,” she said.

The Cop conferences, she added, “are not really meant to change the whole system”, but instead encourage gradual progress. “So as it is, the Cops are not really working, unless of course we use them as an opportunity to mobilise.” 

Ms Thunberg was among those who last week signed a petition by a human rights coalition calling on Egyptian authorities to open up civic space and release political prisoners.

The petition had almost a thousand organisational and individual signatories including 350.org, Amnesty International, and Climate Action Network, the world’s largest climate network made up of over 1,500 civil society organisations. Some organisations, including Greenpeace UK, were criticised for not signing the petition.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

The event in Sharm-El-Sheikh has already been a lightning rod for controversy, with Human Rights Watch and other groups claiming the host country is stifling dissent from climate scientists.

Egypt, which is seeing the likes of rising sea levels and water scarcity already having an impact, has silenced critics from inside the country, according to a report from the human rights organisation.

The Egyptian government has severely curtailed environmental groups’ ability to carry out independent policy, advocacy, and field work essential to protecting the country’s natural environment, it claimed.

Today The Climate Book is finally released in many parts of the world!

I want to use my platform to share the reality of the climate crisis – to communicate a holistic picture of how the world is changing and what we need to do about it. That is why I created this book.
1/4 pic.twitter.com/KKNlqcRA6A

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) October 27, 2022

Released last week, Ms Thunberg’s The Climate Book includes about 100 contributions from various experts, including economist Thomas Piketty, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the writer Naomi Klein.

Ms Thunberg’s royalties for the book will go to her foundation, which will distribute them to charitable organisations working on environmental issues.

The activist said she wanted the book to “be educational, which is a bit ironic since my thing is school strikes”, referring to her protests in front of the Swedish parliament starting in 2018.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB