Greta Thunberg will not be joining the upcoming COP27 summit in Egypt as she disapproves of the country’s human rights record.
She accused the forthcoming UN conference of being “held in a tourist paradise in a country that violates many basic human rights”.
Ms Thunberg previously attended the 2019 COP25 summit in Madrid aged just 16 and the 2021 COP26 event in Glasgow, after the conference was put on hold for year during the pandemic.
However, this year the activist said she will not be attending the COP27 in November, denouncing the conferences as an opportunity for “greenwashing, lying and cheating.”
“I’m not going to COP27 for many reasons, but the space for civil society this year is extremely limited,” she said on Sunday, while promoting her new book The Climate Book at the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre.
“It’s important to leave space for those who need to be there. It will be difficult for activists to make their voices heard,” she added.
This year’s conference is set to be hosted in Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt from 6-18 November in a country reported to keep 60,000 political prisoners.
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In a statement shared on Ms Thunberg’s Twitter feed, the climate activist condemned Egypt’s treatment of the prisoners, saying: “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.”
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Ms Thunberg was also spotted on Sunday at a protest in London outside the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
She stood in solidarity with Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British-Egyptian free speech activist imprisoned for the past 10 years and held a placard that read “Free Alaa before #COP27”.
COP, which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’, is an annual UN-organised conference usually attended by world leaders and climate experts.
The aim of the convention is to discuss and take much needed action against the looming threat of climate change.
However according to a report published earlier this month, the current targets set by the summits are far off track to reduce emissions.
“So as it is, the Cops are not really working, unless of course we use them as an opportunity to mobilise,” Ms Thunberg said, voicing her frustrations at the lack of progress.
UK leaders have come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks as the King announced he would not be attending the summit.
Prime Minster Rishi Sunak previously said he would not be present at the world summit, but amid rising public pressure, said on Monday his decision was currently “under review”.
