Hundreds protest at UN summit, German gov’t voices concerns

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Hundreds of environmental activists on Saturday called on industrialized nations at the U.N. climate summit in Egypt to pay for the impact of global warming, the largest demonstration yet that came as German officials raised concerns about possible surveillance and intimidation of delegates and other conference attendees.

Protests have mostly been muted at the conference, known as COP27, which is taking place in the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Activists blamed high cost of travel, accommodation and restrictions in the isolated city for limiting numbers of demonstrators.

The protesters marched through the conference’s ‘Blue Zone,’ which is considered United Nations territory and governed by the global body’s rules. That has given the activists a bit more space to voice their opinions than in the rest of the country, where Egypt’s authoritarian government essentially bars protests.

Still, there were signs that Egypt was attempting to exert pressure inside the conference venue. Attendees of events at the German pavilion have complained about being photographed and filmed by people unknown to them in the days after Germany hosted an event there with the sister of a jailed Egyptian pro-democracy activist.

“We expect all participants in the U.N. climate conference to be able to work and negotiate under safe conditions,” Germany’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “This is not just true for the German but for all delegations, as well as representatives of civil society and the media. We’re in continuous contact with the Egyptian side on this.”

Egyptian officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

During Saturday’s rally, protesters chanted, sang, and danced in an area not far from where the negotiations were taking place.

Past climate talks have traditionally seen very large protests at the end of the first week of the two-week summit, often drawing thousands of people. This year has been mostly muted, with sporadic and small demonstrations during the first week.

“Pay for loss and damage now,” said Friday Nbani, a Nigerian environmental activist who was leading a group of African protesters. Many protesters, alongside several vulnerable countries, have called for “loss and damage” payments, or financing to help pay for climate-related harms, to be central to negotiations. “Africa is crying, and its people are dying,” Nbani said.

Protesters also called for drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions being pumped into the atmosphere. Emissions continue to rise but scientists say the amount of heat-trapping gases need to be almost halved by 2030 to meet the temperature-limiting goals of the Paris climate accord of 2015.

On Friday, some activists heckled U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech and raised an orange banner that read, “People vs. Fuels” before being removed. One of the activists, Jacob Johns, had his access to the conference revoked as a result.