It is cunningly calculated.
In the annual report to the UN of Russian greenhouse gas emissions, Russia also includes Ukraine's emissions from the Crimean Peninsula and other annexed areas.
The aim is that if the UN includes the Russian emissions in its global compilation, then Russia receives an official UN document which they believe indirectly recognizes occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian.
Ukraine, for its part, accuses Russia of sparing no means in its annexation of the country.
However, the UN has resolved the slightly bizarre diplomatic crisis by refraining from a final tally of the world's emissions.
The consequence is that the world's decision-makers do not get an accurate global figure of countries' emissions with them to the negotiating table.
It is one of several examples of how the war in Ukraine casts long shadows over COP27 in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Requirements for a fund for climate damage
Most important in Egypt will be the issue of trust.
Rich countries have given out money, now during the Ukraine war and earlier during the pandemic, while poor countries are told that there is no money for, for example, climate funds.
The rich countries have not yet delivered the 100 billion dollars that were promised to the funds for this year.
There is a deep distrust of how rich countries count money.
The new coalition of the world's 20 most vulnerable island nations has formed a coalition in which they demand an additional climate fund called "loss and damage" to cover their costs for extreme weather.
Here, a rift has arisen within the EU because Denmark, together with the regions of Wallonia and Scotland, are meeting the island nations and pledging money for a new fund.
The EU's line is no to a new fund, for fear that it will expose rich countries to huge compensation claims.
The EU points instead to the climate funds that already exist and to traditional aid, with the argument that it helps equip countries and make them more resilient.
But trying to make old contributions appear as new funds is rarely a path to success in negotiations.
A compromise will be required here, otherwise the meeting risks ending in a fiasco.
Unexpected progress
What still opens a window to possible progress is that several large countries have significantly tightened their climate pledges.
Australia's new government promises a 43 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030. If all countries made that pledge, the world would be well on its way to meeting climate goals.
Brazil's new president Lula da Silva promises a green transition.
The US has adopted a historic climate package.
India has also accelerated its transition to renewables and will reach 50 percent by 2030.
But the beach resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh will not go down in history as the place where global climate work made decisive progress.
Rather, it is a success if, after all, the countries of the world continue to meet.