The war of aggression against Ukraine was a recurring theme at the world climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh. Russia’s first public appointment in Egypt has now been disrupted by heckling from activists. Security guards escort the troublemakers and a BBC journalist out of the room.
Activists disrupted Russia’s first public event at the world climate conference in Egypt. “You are despicable! You don’t deserve any respect!” yelled a woman at the appointment in Sharm el-Sheikh. “They are war criminals,” shouted another, before UN security guards escorted her out of the room. “They kill people, they throw bombs,” shouted another. “Your climate commitments mean nothing.”
A BBC journalist approached the podium with a cameraman, footage of the confrontation shows. “Are you going to pay reparations to Ukraine for the damage you caused?” asked the journalist, who also had to leave the room. The meeting was about Russia’s measures in the fight against climate change. One of the participants was Russia’s Deputy Environment Minister Sergei Anoprijenko. The climate conference, at which representatives from almost 200 countries discuss further measures to combat global warming, officially ends on Friday.
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which began in February, was a topic there again and again. The President of last year’s COP26 conference, Alok Sharma, sharply attacked Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the start in Egypt. “Putin’s brutal and illegal war in Ukraine” has brought about multiple global crises and worsened the climate crisis.