Environmentalists write an open letter complaining about Coca-Cola as the main sponsor of the climate conference. The beverage manufacturer “is the biggest plastic polluter in the world,” it says. The Ministry of the Environment also gives a gloomy forecast for the future of the oceans.
Health organizations and environmentalists are outraged that Coca-Cola is one of the main sponsors at the UN climate conference in Egypt. An open letter from 60 health organizations to the United Nations said: “Coca-Cola is the world’s largest plastic polluter, with products linked to obesity, poor dental health and non-communicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes.”
The letter also said that in future the UNFCC climate secretariat would have to limit the influence of all companies on climate conferences that harm the environment and health. “It is incompatible with the goals of the climate protection negotiations if company representatives are given such a prominent platform for greenwashing their reputation.” Greenwashing refers to strategies with which companies or states untruthfully present themselves as particularly environmentally friendly. For decades, fact-based health policies have been blocked, delayed and undermined by the tobacco and alcohol industries, as well as manufacturers of ultra-processed foods, among others, it said.
Signatories include the World Obesity Society, the Health Climate Network and the George Institute for Global Health, among others. Environmentalists at the Environmental Justice Foundation wrote on Twitter: “Coca-Cola’s plastic pollution stretches along beaches, blankets oceans and smothers unique wilderness. They have no place at COP27.” It is time to exclude “polluters” from the climate negotiations. The day before, environmentalists reacted with outrage to a data report that 636 lobbyists for oil, gas and coal were registered at the mammoth meeting – 25 percent more than last year in Scotland.
The environmental organization Global Witness and the Corporate Europe Observatory calculated that the fossil industry has more lobbyists in Egypt than the ten countries most affected by the impending climate catastrophe. According to the Federal Environment Ministry, forecasts assume that plastic consumption will more than double by 2060. The biggest drivers are therefore the packaging, vehicle and construction industries. The amount of plastic in the oceans could increase almost fivefold in the period mentioned.