At COP27, protesters within U.N. venue demand climate finance

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 9, (Reuters) – Civil society groups and youth activists at the U.N. COP27 summit held small pop-up rallies Wednesday at designated areas in this Red Sea resort town.

None lasted more than a few hours, and some broke up after less than an hour. They were all being held within areas under U.N. responsibility during the two-week international summit.

“There’s no time anymore to keep coming to these COPs as an exercise, when parties come in their private jets and are sponsored by Coca-Cola, etc., and we do a whole dance around an issue so critical and so urgent,” said Zukiswa White, 29, a South African campaigner for gender equity in climate policy.

She and about 50 others held a brief rally in an outdoor area within the conference center Wednesday.

“Pay compensation!” they shouted, as delegates gathered to watch the event.

“We are trying to respect the organizing of the COP and the restrictions,” White said. “We also want to make the point that this is a site for genuine engagement, and if the engagement is going to be meaningful and effective, we need to also be made to have our way.”

Ahead of the conference, activists had worried their voices would be curtailed in the highly secured tourist resort in Egypt, where public demonstrations are effectively banned and activists have struggled to operate legally amid a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent.

Egypt had said it would allow protests within confined zones at COP27.

White said civic groups…