Coca-Cola's sponsorship of COP27 in Egypt sparks criticism

Egypt’s decision to make Coca-Cola one of the main sponsors of the UN climate change conference (COP27), has sparked controversy on social media and among environmental activists and organizations.

The COP 27 will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh in November

The choice has been widely condemned as paving the way for corporate greenwashing during the summit, and calls have been heaped on Cairo to reverse the move.

Coca-Cola has been named the top corporate plastic polluter in the world for years, and it is held accountable for spending millions of dollars to "greenwash" its brand and influence legislation. The business has come under fire for launching public relations campaigns that intentionally mislead the public about topics like recycling and for introducing voluntary projects and goals that it routinely misses.

Cairo defended the choice by arguing that the private sector has a crucial role to play in developing sustainable business models to assist international climate goals.

Egypt is thought to mishandle over 40 percent of its waste, therefore environmental groups there have made the fight against plastic pollution one of their key issues in recent years.

The agreement has also led to the launch of an online campaign to remove Coca-Cola as a sponsor of COP27.