COP 27 is taking place against the backdrop of multiple and interacting crises, all competing for attention: food and energy insecurity, inflation, debt, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a looming recession. All this makes the climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt) the third ‘tough’ COP in a row, after COP 25 was moved from Chile to Madrid and a gap year when COP 26 in Glasgow was postponed due to the pandemic.