Climate Summit’s Sponsorship by Coca-Cola Condemned as ‘Greenwash’

October 5, 2022 Elizabeta Bozinovska Environment

Coca-Cola is an official sponsor of this year’s U.N. climate conference COP27 in a deal that is being described as “greenwashing.”

Coca-Cola has been described as the “world’s top polluter” by environmental groups. Campaigners said that the company sponsoring COP27 is blatant greenwashing.

This year’s Cop is to be held in Egypt in November. It is the world’s primary forum for governments, businesses, and environmental organizations to tackle the climate emergency.

Coca-Cola has partnered with Cop this year, in a move that environmental campaigners have described as baffling.

The cooperation agreement with Coca-Cola was signed by the Egyptian government. The announcement was met with shock and disappointment across social media, where it was condemned as another example of corporate greenwashing.

Coca-Cola is one of the world’s biggest users of plastic. According to Greenpeace, Coca-Cola produces 120 billion throwaway plastic bottles a year, 99 percent of which are made from fossil fuels.

Found on every continent and in the oceans, plastic is a major source of pollution. Its production also contributes to global warming.

Emma Priestland, a coordinator for Break Free From Plastic, a global alliance of organizations and individuals, said: “Coca-Cola sponsoring the Cop27 is pure ‘greenwash’.

A petition started by a delegate at Cop26 in Glasgow has called for an end to corporate sponsorship of the Cop talks, starting with the removal of Coca-Cola. More than 5,000 have now signed a petition calling for the decision to have Coca-Cola as a sponsor to be reversed.

John Hocevar, oceans campaign director at Greenpeace USA, said: “It is baffling that Coca-Cola – the world’s biggest plastic polluter in all global Break Free From Plastic brand audits – will sponsor this year’s UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Egypt.

There have been other controversies surrounding this year’s Cop in Egypt as well. The country’s clampdown on protesting has been condemned and called out worldwide, as well as Egypt’s human rights record.