It was nice of the Egyptian Presidency designate’s logistics team to invite us to go diving in Sharm el-Sheikh, but ECO is interested in a different kind of deep dive at this point. So let’s take a deep dive into how delegates planning to attend COP27 are being [gouged] [exploited] [shafted] by the Upper Committee in charge of organizing COP27 and by the Egyptian Hotel Association (Sharm el-Sheikh).
The issue is that the Upper Committee organizing COP27 issued several decrees, directing the Egyptian Hotel Association (EHA) to cancel all existing reservations if the room rates are NOT what they have just designated to be the appropriate fee. This is regardless of whether there is a contract in place, or if payments have been made or not, ECO notes!
The EHA circular 26 (dated 28 April 2022) and titled, “Cancellation of all reservations done with prices different [from] the settled prices for COP27” states in part that ‘the Upper Committee that is preparing for the UN COP27 conference made a decree on 12/4/2022 that the hotels prices during COP27 are settled during the conference and any reservations done with lower prices should be cancelled and can be rebooked with conference prices.’
The EHA circular 84 (dated 6 February 2022), calls on hotels to set minimum prices according to the above table, noting “All hotels should amend their online prices accordingly: Online rates should be higher’ and that 25% of the rate ‘is for the conference.” (ECO understands this means 25% of each room’s daily rate will go to the Hotel Association) and that “any booking for participants outside the [official] portal will be subject to the 25% of the conference”.
At the in-person logistics briefing held on Friday (June 10th), led by various private-sector suppliers and a smattering of staff of the incoming COP27 Presidency, it was disturbing to see that while there was a lot of hand-wringing about ‘trying to resolve this,’ no details were actually given, despite this being raised with the relevant officials prior to the meeting. Further, Sherif Salem, chairperson of the Global Conference Management (GCM) – apparently appointed to manage all the COP logistical issues, claimed ‘it was normal’ for prices to increase around a big event, and simply swotted away serious questions with a ‘send me an email, and I’ll help you.’
Parties and civil society raised serious concerns about the exclusionary impact these price hikes would have. They pointed out that these actions exacerbated an already creeping trend for logistical issues to block the participation of many voices (like those from civil society) who attend COPs to fight for the rights of people who have diminished voices, to fight to save our planet, and make the voices of the vulnerable heard.
ECO notes that on the official COP27 website, the chairperson of the COP27 Higher Committee is listed as Dr Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt. In his remarks, published on the website, he says, “Egypt is fully committed to hosting an inclusive Conference where all parties, youth, civil society and the private sector can showcase their action on implementation and delivery and further enhance their ambition towards a just transition based on the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities”. (Emphasis added by ECO).
ECO notes the HUGE disconnect between what is being said and what is being done. The danger is that chasing windfall profits instead of ‘hosting an inclusive conference’ will do no one any good. The reputation of Egypt as a tourism destination will suffer, as will the most vulnerable people on the planet, whose governments may only be able to participate virtually, and whose civil society delegates will be considerably thinned out, if they are able to send anyone at all. That still says nothing about the damage to Egypt’s reputation as a country which does not abide by basic rule of law principles like observing signed contracts.
ECO implores Dr Mostafa Madbouly and the COP27 Presidency leadership to consider this matter much more earnestly. Parties and observers are going to COP 27 to get climate action and make sure that the future tourists don’t dive into the warm waters of Sharm el-Sheikh and see bleached corals and dead or dying fish. Similarly, delegates coming to the COP cannot miss the next step in the fight for climate justice, so those people whose lives and livelihoods depend on a healthy planet can be assured that when they dive into the warm ocean waters in their countries, they will see healthy corals and schools of fish.