The COP30 underway in Belém, Brazil, should have been the “implementation” conference, the right time to transform commitments into concrete actions to contain global warming. And instead it is turning out to be the busiest COP ever by representatives of the fossil fuel industry: over 1,600 lobbyists have received a pass to participate in the climate negotiations.
This is according to a new analysis by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition.
An impressive fact: only Brazil, the host country, brought more delegates from fossil fuel lobbyists. The latter numerically exceed almost all national delegations, and represent a presence increased by 12% compared to COP29 in Baku. Today, in Belém, one in every 25 participants works directly or indirectly for oil, gas and coal.
A situation that is fueling increasingly insistent calls to permanently protect climate negotiations from the influence of the industry responsible for the climate crisis.
Fossil lobbies more numerous than the delegations of the countries most affected by the climate crisis
Among the most disturbing data:
And this while 2025 is set to become one of the hottest years on record, with record concentrations of CO₂ and increasingly frequent climate disasters.
Who are these lobbyists and how do they enter into negotiations
The KBPO coalition has examined line by line the provisional list of participants published by the UNFCCC:
Although, for the first time, non-governmental participants at a COP must publicly declare who finances them, the same rules do not apply to those participating with government badges, leaving room for opacity and conflicts of interest.
It is absurd to believe that we can tackle the climate crisis by giving power to those who caused it. More than 1,500 fossil lobbyists freely roam the COP as if it were their home. It’s frustrating and an insult to the communities that are paying the price for the crisis, says Jax Bongon, a KBPO member from the Philippines.
Other activists point out that many of the companies present at COP30 are simultaneously fueling armed conflicts, propping up violent regimes or expanding fossil infrastructure, with nearly $250 billion approved for new oil and gas projects since COP29.
And many highlight another paradox: while thousands of lobbyists enter without problems, indigenous leaders and affected communities struggle to even get a pass.
Yet another blow to a climate system already in crisis
10 years after the Paris Agreement and as emissions continue to rise, this massive participation of the fossil lobby raises a crucial question: how can we hope for real solutions if the COP continues to give a megaphone to those who have fueled – and continue to fuel – the climate crisis?
The risk is that COP30, in the cradle of the Amazon, becomes yet another missed opportunity, suffocated by the interests of those who defend an energy model that is taking the planet towards points of no return.
To have fair and transparent negotiations, a radical step would be needed: excluding large polluters from decision-making tables. Until this happens, COPs will continue to be spaces where the fossil industry dictates the agenda, while those living on the front lines of the climate crisis are only heard behind already closed doors.
The future of the climate also passes from here: from the courage to create decision-making processes free from those who profit from the destruction of the planet.
