Imagine a world where the very entities driving climate catastrophe have a seat at the table, shaping the global climate agenda. It's a shocking reality that thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists have gained access to the UN climate talks, and the consequences are dire.
Over the past four years, a staggering 5,000+ fossil fuel lobbyists have been granted entry to the UN climate summits. This period has witnessed an alarming rise in extreme weather events, inadequate climate action, and a record-breaking expansion of oil and gas industries. New research reveals the extent of this corporate infiltration.
These lobbyists, representing the interests of oil, gas, and coal industries, have been allowed to participate in annual climate negotiations. These negotiations are meant to be a space for states to commit to ambitious policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, yet these corporations, largely responsible for climate breakdown, have been given a platform.
The research highlights that approximately 5,350 lobbyists, working for at least 859 fossil fuel organizations, have been mingling with world leaders and climate negotiators. This includes trade groups, foundations, and companies involved in every stage of the supply chain. And here's where it gets controversial: just 90 of these fossil fuel corporations, many of which are major oil and gas companies, accounted for over half of the oil and gas produced last year.
These 90 corporations produced an astonishing 33,699 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2024, which is enough to cover an area larger than Spain with a 1cm layer of oil. Furthermore, these same corporations are responsible for almost two-thirds of all short-term upstream fossil fuel expansion projects, which, if executed, will result in the production of enough oil to coat the landmass of seven European countries combined.
The findings have sparked renewed calls to ban fossil fuel companies and other big polluters from these annual climate negotiations. With scientific evidence mounting that the world has failed to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the presence of these lobbyists is a contentious issue.
Adilson Vieira, spokesperson for the Amazonian Work Group, states, "This information exposes the corporate capture of the global climate process. The space meant for science and the people has become a carbon business hall. While forest communities fight for survival, these companies causing climate collapse buy influence to expand their fossil empires."
Brenna Yellowthunder, lead coordinator for the Indigenous Environmental Network, adds, "Indigenous peoples suffer human rights violations at the hands of these extractive sites, and we bear the brunt of climate chaos on our lands with worsening floods, wildfires, and extreme heat waves. We need to remove the 'for sale' sign on Mother Earth and bar oil and gas lobbyists from these negotiations."
The 30th UN climate summit (COP30) opens in Belem, a city in the Brazilian Amazon, where the world's largest rainforest is being destroyed by expanding fossil fuel exploitation, industrial agriculture, and mining. These annual meetings are where countries negotiate strategies to tackle the climate crisis, guided by the UNFCCC treaty and the Paris Agreement.
The research analyzed the fossil fuel lobbyists who attended the negotiations in Glasgow (COP26), Sharm el-Sheikh (COP27), Dubai (COP28), and Baku (COP29). Prior to this, the UNFCCC did not collate information on lobbyists. Growing anger at the lack of meaningful action by wealthy, polluting countries is further fueled by the revelation that the fossil fuel industry seems to have greater access to these talks than most countries.
Last year, 1,773 registered fossil fuel lobbyists attended the summit in Azerbaijan, which is 70% more than the total number of delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable nations combined. And this is the part most people miss: the true reach of fossil fuel influence is likely much deeper, as the data excludes executives and other company representatives on official country delegations and those attending as guests of governments.
Many of the world's most profitable fossil fuel corporations have been present at recent COP summits, even as governments faced public pressure to phase out fossil fuels due to deadly climate impacts worldwide. Between 2021 and 2024, Shell sent 37 lobbyists, BP sent 36, ExxonMobil sent 32, and Chevron sent 20. In the past five years, these four oil majors made over $420 billion in combined profits.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods will headline a COP30 launch event in Brasilia, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce, despite the US withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and not sending a country delegation to the summit. Meanwhile, Petrobras, a majority state-owned Brazilian multinational, has been granted a license for exploratory oil drilling off the Amazon, home to Indigenous communities and 10% of the planet's known species.
A Petrobras spokesperson stated, "We recognize the opportunity to discuss sustainable models... Our participation in COP30 reinforces our commitment to international climate and energy debates."
Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, and Chevron did not respond to requests for comment.
After years of campaigning, COP delegates are now being asked to disclose funding sources and confirm alignment with the UNFCCC. However, advocates argue that the new transparency requirements exclude official government delegations and overflows, and calls for stricter conflict-of-interest protections have been largely ignored. Mohammed Usrof, executive director of the Palestinian Institute for Climate Strategy, states, "Transparency without exclusion is performative. The UNFCCC must move from disclosure to disqualification to cut industry influence. Without reform, this process will not save the world."
The UNFCCC has been contacted for comment.
