A sense of stagnation pervaded the summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, as negotiators failed to reach agreement on key issues such as fossil fuel financing
Environment 22 November 2022
A delegate sleeps during the plenary session of COP27 on 20 November
Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images
Hosting a climate summit for 40,000 people in the desert, in the midst of a food and energy crisis, is no mean feat. But sympathy for COP27 host Egypt was running thin within hours of the first delegates arriving at the main venue in Sharm El Sheikh earlier this month.
The site itself was a tangle of temporary marquees and prefabricated structures nestled around an existing conference centre. Lost delegates plodded around in the baking sun, desperately searching …