91Èȱ¬

The announcement that Coca-Cola will be the official sponsor for COP27 has been criticised by environmental campaigners.

The COP27 event is a global United Nations summit about climate change and how countries plan to tackle it.

This year's event will be held between 6-18 November 2022, in Sharm-El Sheikh, in Egypt.

Coca-Cola has been described as the "world's top plastic polluter" by the environmental group Break Free From Plastic.

The company said it "shares the goal of eliminating waste and appreciates efforts to raise awareness".

Environmental campaign groups have expressed their frustration at the announcement, with more than 68,000 people signing a petition asking for the decision to be reversed.

"It is baffling that Coca-Cola - the world's biggest plastic polluter in all global Break Free From Plastic brand audits, including Kenya and Uganda - will sponsor this year's UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Egypt." said Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director, John Hocevar.

"Coca-Cola produces 120 billion throwaway plastic bottles a year - and 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels, worsening both the plastic and climate crisis" he said.

In 2019 the company admitted it uses three million tonnes of plastic packaging a year.

In a statement, Coca-Cola said: "We share the goal of eliminating waste from the ocean and appreciate efforts to raise awareness about this challenge. We are prepared to do our part and have set ambitious goals for our business, starting with helping to collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one we sell - regardless of where it comes from - by 2030.

"Our support for Cop27 is in line with our science-based target to reduce absolute carbon emissions 25% by 2030, and our ambition for net zero carbon emissions by 2050."

"We recognise that still we have a lot of work to do to reach our goals and our business unit in Egypt will play a critical role in helping to deliver our commitments. COP27 will be an important platform for us to connect with new partners as we seek to accelerate our actions." said Marcel Martin, Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer at Coca-Cola's bottling partner in Egypt HBC.

Plastic is a major source of pollution. Most plastics aren't biodegradable - they don't break down, like paper or food, so stay in the environment for hundreds of years.

Production of plastic also contributes to global warming - currently 99% of plastic is produced from fossil fuels in a process which produces greenhouse gases that cause climate change.