- Climate activist, Greta Thunburg, has slammed COP27, as an opportunity for “people in power to use greenwashing, lying and cheating.”
- She was speaking at the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre yesterday at the promo launch of her new book, “The Climate Book”.
- The UN’s 27th conference on climate change opens in Egypt at the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on 6 November.
“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 at the launch of her latest book at London’s 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.
Related news: South Africa’s environment minister turns up heat ahead of COP27
The rights to freedom of expression and association were severely repressed according to Amesty International. “Authorities targeted human rights defenders, opposition politicians and other activists through unlawful summons, coercive questioning, extrajudicial probation measures, criminal investigations, unfair prosecutions and inclusion on a “list of terrorists”. Thousands of people, including human rights defenders, journalists, students, opposition politicians, business owners and peaceful protesters, remained arbitrarily detained.”
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
