Attendees of this yr’s UN local weather convention in Egypt discovered themselves stepping over streams of foul-smelling fluid Wednesday after a pipe or tank holding liquid waste appeared to have burst close to one of many venue’s most important thoroughfares.

The incident was the most recent of a number of infrastructure and planning issues which have emerged this week throughout the convention, which runs by way of Nov. 18. Individuals have complained that primary requirements equivalent to consuming water and meals aren’t accessible or require prolonged queuing underneath the simmering Sinai solar. Flooring generally buckle and bathroom paper within the varied venues has steadily run out.

The issues elevate broader points about planning for an occasion meant to assist clear up local weather change and promote inexperienced residing.

Large AC items blow chilly air into huge tent-like buildings with little insulation and doorways vast open. Empty rooms are brightly lit into the evening. Photo voltaic panels, wind generators or electrical automobiles are laborious to seek out.

The occasion’s Egyptian hosts did not instantly reply to a request for remark.

Questions round sustainability have dogged U.N. local weather conferences for years. For instance, throughout the assembly in Katowice, Poland, in 2018, scorching air needed to be pumped into the prefabricated buildings to maintain contributors heat in sub-zero temperatures. Final yr in Glasgow, Scotland, the plastic wrapping of sandwiches and drinks being saved in open refrigerated items raised eyebrows.

Responding to criticism, many latest hosts have highlighted their efforts to maintain the talks inexperienced, with vegan meals, recycling containers and varied “carbon offsets” for unavoidable emissions attributable to the convention.

This yr’s assembly in Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort by the Crimson Sea, drew 33,449 contributors on the final rely, lots of whom arrived by aircraft.