COP27 sponsors: which firms are partners of Egypt climate conference - what are their environment track record

Climate activists have slammed the sponsors of COP27 for not “reflecting the ambitions” of the world’s transition to a zero-carbon society and should be working to curb climate change.

It comes as sponsors of the climate conference have come under fire, particularly the announcement of Coca-Cola’s partnership with the summit. Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace UK, said the sponsorship is “baffling” as the firm “worsens both the plastic and climate crises.”

COP27 sponsors should be “built around a foundation of being low-carbon”, meaning “no airlines, no plastic producers, no oil and gas producers, and no car companies,” Robbie Gillett, Badvertising campaigner at climate charity Possible, said.

He added that the summit is “meant to be the next stage of the world’s transition to a zero-carbon society and as such, their sponsors should reflect those ambitions” therefore “rail or renewable energy companies would make great alternatives.”

However, George Harding-Rolls, campaign manager at environmental group Changing Markets Foundation told NationalWorld that he thinks “no corporation should be sponsoring COP” because “that the most important conference on the future of our planet should be taking sponsorship money from a private company is, frankly, absurd.”

Here we take a look at all of COP27’s ‘Main partners’, ‘Partners’ and ‘Supporters’, and assess how environmentally friendly the firms are and what they have put in place to become greener.

Environmental track record of COP27’s ‘Main partners’

Vodafone

Despite being a large mobile network company which will have negative effects on the environment, it has implemented many plans to become greener. The firm switched its European networks to 100% renewable energy in 2021, and the group aims to reach net zero across 21 countries by 2040.