Over 1,700 coal, oil and gas lobbyists granted access to Cop29, says report

Fossil fuel-linked lobbyists outnumber delegations of almost every country at climate talks in Baku, analysis finds

At least 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists have been granted access to the United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, a new report has found, raising concerns about the planet-heating industry’s influence on the negotiations.

Those lobbyists outnumber the delegations of almost every country at the conference, the analysis from the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition shows, with the only exceptions being this year’s host country, Azerbaijan, next year’s host Brazil, and Turkey.

The finding comes during week one of the climate summit, known as Cop29. Days before the talks kicked off, Elnur Soltanov, Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister and chief executive of Cop29, was caught on film agreeing to facilitate oil deals at the negotiations.

Sarah McArthur, an activist with the environmental group UK Youth Climate Coalition, which is a member of the KBPO coalition, said: “Cop29 kicked off with the revelation that fossil fuel deals were on the agenda, laying bare the ways that industry’s constant presence has delayed and weakened progress for years. The fossil fuel industry is driven by their financial bottom line, which is fundamentally opposed to what is needed to stop the climate crisis, namely, the urgent and just phaseout of fossil fuels.”

The 10 most climate-vulnerable nations have only a combined 1,033 delegates at the negotiations. “Industry presence is dwarfing that of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” the analysis says.

Many fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to Cop29 as part of trade associations, primarily from the global north. The International Emissions Trading Association brought the largest number, with 43 representatives hailing from oil majors like TotalEnergies and Glencore.

Other lobbyists are attending as part of national delegations. Japan brought a representative from coal giant Sumitomo, while Canada brought representatives from Suncor and Tourmaline, and Italy brought employees of energy companies Eni and Enel. The UK alone brought 20 lobbyists, the report says.

“The fossil fuel industry has long manipulated climate negotiations to protect its interests while our planet burns,” said Dawda Cham of the grassroots groups Help Gambia and the Africa Make Big Polluters Pay coalition, who is also a member of the KBPO coalition.

The analysis also says the major oil producers Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell and Eni, which brought a combined total of 39 lobbyists to Cop29, are “linked to enabling genocide in Palestine” because their operations supply oil to Israel.

For the analysis, climate campaigners pored over the UN’s list of registered Cop29 attenders and noted their disclosed affiliations.

Last year’s climate talks in Dubai were attended by 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists – a record number which represented nearly 3% of the 85,000 total attenders. This year, turnout is lower, with about 70,000 people granted access, of whom 1.5% are fossil fuel-linked lobbyists.

Though the analysis covers only fossil fuel-linked lobbyists, it notes that representatives from other polluting sectors such as agribusiness and transit are also present.

Activists have for years urged the UN to ban representatives of polluting industries from climate talks. Last year, officials imposed a new rule requiring registrants to disclose their affiliations; they were previously able to attend without formally disclosing these relationships.

The US hosted a senior representative from the world’s second largest oilfield services company in its Cop29 pavilion on Thursday. In a panel about “industry climate solutions for global partners,” a Baker Hughes vice-president said “we’re not looking to tear down infrastructure” but rather were interested in “incremental change” in the fossil fuel industry.

Baker Hughes provides services and products for geothermal power and carbon capture and storage, yet its main business is providing products and services for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.

Coal, oil and gas are the top contributors to the climate crisis. To avert the worst consequences of global heating, the world must swiftly phase them out, top climate scientists have long warned.

UN climate negotiators did not agree to “transition away” from fossil fuels until their 28th summit in Dubai last year.

Cover photo: By The Guardian