Fossil fuel producers benefited from sympathetic treatment in Egypt at the COP27 climate talks, government officials said, bringing their influence to bear in rushed final negotiations and frustrating those who hoped for a more ambitious outcome.

Officials said the host Egypt, a natural gas exporter and frequent recipient of funds from Gulf oil producers, was partly responsible, although the war in Ukraine and the subsequent European energy crisis also had an impact.

..."Holding COPs in petro-states may seem counterproductive but actually we can't ignore these countries. They need to be engaged in the process and putting pressure on them as a COP host may provide bigger gains," said Mohamed Adow, founder of think tank Power Shift Africa.