African activists question credibility of upcoming UN climate talks
MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Climate activists in Africa are expressing anger toward the United Nations climate agency, accusing it of allowing corporations and individuals with dubious climate credentials to greenwash their polluting activities by participating in its annual climate conference.
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Activists say they are increasingly concerned about oil and gas representatives thwarting the conference, where countries try and agree on ways to cut planet-warming activities. An analysis of the provisional list of last year’s conference participants found 636 people linked to fossil fuel companies were set to attend, a 25 percent increase from 2021.
Campaign groups on the continent are calling on blocs of climate-vulnerable nations to reject any move by the UAE that gives fossil fuel actors control of global climate discussions.
“This is the textbook definition of impunity and conflict of interest,” Mithika Mwenda, PACJA’s executive director said in a statement Monday on al-Jaber, where he also called for the president-designate to step down. “It is hard to see al-Jaber leading objective, science-backed negotiations in the interest of the most vulnerable.”
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https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/african-activists-question-credibility-of-upcoming-un-climate-talks