This figure has climbed by more than 25% at the climate negotiations taking place this year in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. At least 636 fossil industry lobbyists were registered at COP27, more than the combined delegations of the 10 nations most affected by the climate crisis, according to a study from Corporate Accountability, Corporate Europe Observatory, and Global Witness.
The findings reinforced efforts to prevent representatives of fossil fuels from participating in climate negotiations.
“Don’t encourage the mosquitoes if you want to combat malaria,” said Philip Jakpor of Public Participation Africa to BBC News. We won’t advance and we haven’t advanced as long as the fossil fuel lobby and its apparatus are in operation.
The study determined which of the more than 30,000 COP27 delegates were either affiliated with a corporation that conducted a significant amount of business in fossil fuels or was in attendance on behalf of a trade organization representing fossil fuel interests.
These included significant oil and gas producers including BP, Shell, and Chevron. The analysis is probably an underestimation because it used publicly accessible data and delegates who self-disclosed their affiliations to the industry. Additionally, it excludes representatives from other climate-harming sectors like plastics and farming.
The investigation revealed more representation for fossil fuels than any other country’s delegation, with the exception of the UAE, which has 1,070 members. But 70 of those members are also lobbyists for fossil fuels. 29 nations, including the UEA, included lobbyists for fossil fuels in their delegation.
The next-highest amount, 33, was in Russia. Three executives from Enbridge, an energy corporation constructing the contentious Line 3 pipeline that is being challenged by Indigenous communities, were part of Canada’s delegation.
The lobby for fossil fuels was significantly bigger than the one for frontline communities. The delegation of the 10 most affected nations was outnumbered, as was the delegation of any African nation and the entire Indigenous representation, according to Kick Big Polluters Out.
According to Kwami Kpondzo from Friends of the Earth Togo, who was quoted in The Guardian, “The explosion in the number of industry delegates attending the negotiations reinforces the conviction of the climate justice community that the industry views the COP as a carnival of sorts, and not a space to address the ongoing and imminent climate crisis.”
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The campaign to “Kick Big Polluters Out” has received support from more than 450 organisations, according to Global Witness, who argue that fossil fuel interests should be barred at climate meetings in the same manner that cigarette lobbyists are prohibited from influencing public health policy. Anyone who signs a petition on behalf of the group can support its four key demands:
- Ban polluters from participating in climate negotiations.
- Don t allow polluters to greenwashing-guide-2655331542.html”>greenwash their images by sponsoring climate talks or initiatives, as Coca-Cola is doing by sponsoring COP27.
- Facilitate the full participation of civil society, which has been restricted at COP27, especially by Egypt s anti-protest laws.
- Create a new system that favors a just transition over capitalist growth.
According to The Guardian, the case for including corporate representatives in climate negotiations like the COPs is that private businesses may be crucial in the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
According to The Guardian, the United States Council for International Business stated that barring commercial interests from COPs will hinder and postpone implementation as well as marginalise one of the most important groups in the UNFCCC process.
Activists worry that the numerous fossil fuel industry lobbyists will actually prevent effective climate action.
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At health conferences, tobacco lobbyists wouldn’t be permitted, and at peace conventions, arms dealers couldn’t advertise their business. The doors of a climate conference should not be opened to those who are sustaining the world’s addiction to fossil fuels.
A spokeswoman for the organizations behind the report released a statement saying that it is time for countries to stop lining the pockets of polluters, come to their senses, and assist in making COP27 the success that the world so desperately needs.
