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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
The Secret Negotiator

Cop conferences are a big game of let’s pretend and 27 won’t be any different

Cop27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Cop27 summit. Delegates will keep off certain subjects just as they’ll do their best to keep out of the heat. Photograph: Sayed Sheasha/Reuters

The Cop is a strange beast – an annual event that everyone claims to hate but no one wants to miss. This year’s Cop is even weirder: it’s in a famous Red Sea seaside resort renowned for its warm blue seas and coral reefs, but the diving centres are closed for security reasons and in any case few of us will have time to so much as dip a toe in the sea.

We will spend all our hours inside a conference centre with little daylight, and only see the sun as we try to dash in our formal clothes from air-conditioned hotel to air-conditioned conference hall without getting covered in sweat.

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