Key Points
- Greta Thunberg will not be attending this month's COP27 United Nations climate summit in Egypt
- Coca-Cola is sponsoring this year's COP, despite being named the top plastic polluting corporation of 2021
It's the summit where world leaders gather to get across the latest climate science and set targets in a bid to tackle greenhouse gas emissions — but it's causing a stir.
The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP27, has been accused of greenwashing, with one prominent climate activist set to skip the meeting for this alleged reason.
labelled COP27 as a chance for people in power to "get attention, using many different kinds of greenwashing", the practice of creating a false impression about how environmentally friendly an organisation's products and aims are.
It's not the first time she has accused the summit of this. At a rally during, she described the summit as "a global north greenwash festival".
On Monday, Ms Thunberg said it would be "difficult for activists to make their voices heard" at this year's event in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh, and that she wanted to "leave space for those who need to be there".
The 19-year-old was speaking at the London Literature Festival and is not the first person to have raised concerns about greenwashing, the practice of creating a false impression about how environmentally friendly an organisation's products and aims are.
Coca-Cola, one of the main sponsors of COP27, was named the top plastic polluting corporation of 2021 by climate activist group Break Free From Plastic and has been accused of "greenwashing their brand".
"The Coca-Cola Company has retained its dirty crown as the world’s top polluter for the fourth year in a row, despite voluntary commitments started in 2018 to collect one bottle for every one sold," the movement's reads.
COP27, of which Coca-Cola is a sponsor, kicks off on Sunday 6 November 2022. Source: Change.org 'Remove Coca-Cola as sponsors of COP27' petition.
Coca-Cola is sponsoring this year's COP, an event designed to encourage governments around the world to pledge greater initiatives to fight climate change, such as reducing pollution, carbon emissions and waste.
Georgia Elliott-Smith was a delegate at and started the petition. She says she cried during last year's event due to the "despair" she felt.
"Most days I felt despair - some days I cried," she said.
A spokesperson for the Coca-Cola company told SBS News its sponsorship of COP27 is in line with its "science-based targets".
"Our support for COP27 is in line with our science-based target to reduce absolute carbon emissions 25 per cent by 2030, and our ambition for net zero carbon emissions by 2050," the spokesperson said.
"Packaging represents around 30 per cent of our carbon footprint, so our World Without Waste and carbon reduction efforts go hand in hand."
Does the Australian government use greenwashing?
Polly Hemming, from public policy think tank the Australia Institute, told SBS News that the federal government "sets the standard for greenwashing".
"Itself a climate laggard and blocker of international climate action, the Australian government has been using creative climate accounting and the concept of offsetting rather than actual decarbonisation for decades," she said.
"The government says Australia's emissions have fallen 22 per cent since 2005, but when you count actual emissions from fossil fuels and other sources, they've only fallen by 1.8 per cent."
is the reduction or removal of emissions of greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere, and has drawn ethical and environmental concerns from advocates.
Ms Hemming says the government is enabling the fossil fuel industry through subsidies.
"It provides around $10 billion every year in subsidies for fossil fuels and has a 'carbon neutral' certification scheme that is promoting gas companies as 'progressive climate leaders' even when they've shown no indication that they are reducing their emissions," she said.
Ms Hemming says the government tries to greenwash its support of new coal and gas projects.
"The Australian government is justifying new gas and coal projects in Australia on the basis that the emissions will not stay in Australia and will be exported, which means they don't have to be counted in Australia's emissions reporting," she said.
"What they don't say is that the 114 new gas and coal projects in development in Australia will result in around 150 million tonnes of domestic emissions every year."
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources and Energy Minister Chris Bowen's office have been contacted for a response to greenwashing allegations.
