More than 1,700 oil and gas lobbyists at COP29: Which European delegations invited them?

At least 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists have been allowed to attend the UN climate conference in Baku, a report released today has revealed.

The analysis from the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition found that fossil fuel lobbyists have received more passes to COP29 than all of the delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable nations combined.

It says industry presence is “dwarfing” that of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis who are suffering, in part, due to the actions of oil and gas companies.

The only delegations which outnumber them are host country Azerbaijan, COP30 hosts Brazil and Türkiye.

“The fossil fuel lobby’s grip on climate negotiations is like a venomous snake coiling around the very future of our planet,” says KBPO member Nnimmo Bassey from the Health of Mother Earth Foundation.

“We must expose their deceit and take decisive action to remove their influence and make them pay for their infractions towards our planet. It’s time to prioritise the voices of those who have been fighting for justice and sustainability, not the interests of polluters.”

How did fossil fuel lobbyists get into COP29?

KBPO’s analysis finds that a vast number of fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to COP29 as part of trade associations. Eight of the top 10 trade groups with the most lobbyists came from countries in the Global North.

The highest number came with the International Emissions Trading Association which brought 43 people to the summit including representatives from oil majors TotalEnergies and Glencore. European trade associations including the Federation of German Industries and BusinessEurope were among the 10 associations with the most people representing the fossil fuel industry.

Other lobbyists came with national delegations. Italy brought employees of the energy companies Eni and Enel. Japan brought representatives from the coal company Sumitomo, and Canada representatives from Suncor and Tourmaline.

The UK alone brought 20 fossil fuel lobbyists despite attempts to position itself as a climate leader at this year’s talks.

The analysis also only counts fossil fuel lobbyists, not those from other industries deeply implicated in the climate crisis who may also be present such as finance, agribusiness or transportation.

The history of fossil fuel lobbyists dominating the COP

In Dubai last year, a record 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to the annual climate talks - almost four times the number at COP27 the previous year in Egypt. They represented around 3 per cent of the 85,000 people that attended COP28. This was heavily criticised by representatives of vulnerable nations and civil society groups who said their presence undermined the integrity of the COP process.

There are fewer people at COP29 this year in an attempt to curb the rapid growth of the UN climate conference. With around 70,000 people granted access to the summit in Baku, lobbyists linked to fossil fuels make up roughly 1.5 per cent of attendees.

KBPO says that fossil fuel representation at UN climate talks has been consistently high with people from the industry present since their inception. In 2017, countries representing nearly 70 per cent of the world’s population requested that these conflicts of interest be addressed.

After consistent pressure from civil society, last year a new rule was introduced which requires people registering for the talks to disclose their affiliations. Before, they could attend without disclosing these affiliations, allowing them to go somewhat incognito.

“For nearly 30 years, these actors have hijacked negotiations, sabotaging meaningful progress as our communities across the Global South bear the brutal brunt of the climate crisis, yet our voices remain marginalised in these critical discussions,” says Rachitaa Gupta from the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice.

“No more compromises. These polluters need to be kicked out and it’s time for us, Global South communities—those who have contributed least to this crisis yet suffer the most—to lead and shape real, just climate solutions over profit.”

Why are fossil fuel companies at COP29?

Kathy Mulvey, accountability director for the Union of Concerned Scientists’s climate and energy programme, has watchdogged industry presence at UN talks related to health and climate for more than 20 years.

“The massive fossil fuel industry presence at COP29 illustrates what’s at stake: what oil and gas corporations think they have to lose and how they may be trying to cash in,” she says.

Mulvey claims that while they continue lobbying to delay the phaseout of fossil fuels, they are also trying to co-opt the clean energy transition by demanding subsidies from governments for tech that is unlikely to play a role in meeting 2030 climate targets. She adds that countries must resist any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to “swindle funding” that should be put toward climate finance needed by Global South nations.

UCS points to booths inside COP29 which it says claim “oil touches our daily lives in different ways,” promote natural gas as “the cleanest of hydrocarbons” as well as events in the business pavilion sponsored by big oil and gas firms like Chevron and ExxonMobil.

“Fossil fuel corporations and their surrogates shouldn’t have a seat at the negotiating table where climate policy is being made - allowing them that access is like setting the cat loose among the pigeons,” Mulvey says.

“Corporations such as ExxonMobil, which have engaged in a decades-long campaign to deceive the public and policymakers and block or delay climate action, have repeatedly shown that they can’t be trusted as good-faith players in climate policymaking.”

Climate leaders call for urgent overhaul of UN climate process

The report comes as an open letter signed by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, the former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and other experts calls for seven key reforms to the COP process.

It says robust tracking of climate financing, integration of the latest scientific evidence, smaller more frequent meetings, improvements to implementation and accountability for climate targets and decisive action on equality, justice and poverty alleviation are needed.

But it also highlights the need for strict eligibility criteria to exclude countries that don’t support the phase-out/transition away from fossil energy and more equitable representation. The letter draws attention to the 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists granted access to COP28 last year.

“The fact that there were far more fossil fuel lobbyists than official representatives from scientific institutions, Indigenous communities and vulnerable nations reflects a systemic imbalance in COP representation,” it reads.

“At the last COP, fossil fuel lobbyists outnumbered representatives of scientific institutions, Indigenous communities and vulnerable nations,” Figueres says.

“We cannot hope to achieve a just transition without significant reforms to the COP process that ensure fair representation of those most affected.”