In an open letter to Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 60 health organisations from around the world call for the protection of COP from corporate greenwashing following Coca-Cola sponsorship.
Coca-Cola is the world’s leading plastic polluter, whose products are linked to obesity, poor oral health, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer and diabetes. Sponsorships such as Coca-Cola’s put the transparency and evidence-informed nature of COP27 policy dialogues and negotiations at risk. The organisations outline that providing such a high-profile platform for corporate actors to ‘greenwash’ their reputation is incompatible with the aims of climate change negotiations. By allowing Coca-Cola to sponsor COP27, the UNFCCC is contributing to the illusion that the company is committed to change, despite its very poor track record of achieving its sustainability pledges and the impact that Coca-Cola products have on human and planetary health.
The open letter signatories include global organisations from across the health sector, such as World Obesity Federation, Health Climate Network, NCD Alliance, Vital Strategies, and the Global Climate and Health Alliance, in addition to nationally and regionally focused organisations, including Africa NCDs Network, Healthy Caribbean Coalition, the European Public Health Alliance, and the Healthy India Alliance.
