Fossil fuel lobbyists eclipse delegations from most climate-vulnerable nations at COP29 climate talks
Oil and gas reps outnumber those from most vulnerable nations
Record number of fossil fuel lobbyists get access to Cop28 climate talks
Those are just a few of the headlines from the last few years detailing how Big Polluters showed up in force at the U.N. climate talks in staggering numbers. And today, The Guardian just added another entry: How thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists got access to U.N. climate talks – and then kept drilling. This story covers the latest research from Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO), which details the extent of Big Polluters’ presence over the last 4 years of climate talks, and how much oil and gas production these Big Polluters are responsible for while they’ve been seeking to undermine climate action.
Here’s the big takeaway: more than 5,350 fossil fuel lobbyists attended the climate talks between 2021 and 2024, including representatives from 90 oil and gas corporations that are responsible for nearly 60% of global oil and gas production in 2024.
The right number of fossil fuel lobbyists in treaty talks if we are truly going to justly address the climate crisis? ZERO.
That’s why we are joining forces with our KBPO allies and members like you, to organize to Kick Big Polluters Out. We’ve consistently exposed their influence, and now we need the U.N. Secretary General to take go further and action.
Whether our backyards have corn or bodegas, forests or freeways most of us believe that people, not corporations, should be calling the shots when it comes to the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the future of the planet and all life on it.
But right now spaces that should be run by and for the people, from the White House to the U.N. climate talks, are in some stage of hostile corporate takeover. The climate talks SHOULD be a place where the world comes together to address the climate crisis. But instead, from the start of the talks, Big Polluters like Exxon and Chevron have influenced and undermined this space — from infiltrating the space with industry representatives to spreading disinformation and weakening measures in the treaty.
Nearly 60 percent of the oil and gas in the world last year was produced by just 90 (of the 180) corporations that attended the climate talks over the past four years. Why do these fossil fuel shills keep showing up to these treaty meetings? Because they have huge vested interests in keeping the status quo — in shaping policies that allow them to keep extracting and polluting.
We can’t let that continue.
Join us in calling on Secretary General Guterres to Kick Big Polluters Out of the climate treaty negotiations, and crack down on fossil fuel industry influence through the U.N.
It’s clear the U.N. Secretary General understands the deep-seated problem allowing the fossil fuel industry to shape climate policy. And while statements are important, action is critical.
We have no more time to waste. Together, we must ask him to take the lead and use his power and platform to urgently intervene.
