The presence of the fossil fuel sector at COP29 in Baku

London – At least 1,773 representatives of companies and organizations linked to fossil fuel production are participating in the COP29 summit in Baku, according to a survey released this Friday (15) by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition, which brings together more of 450 members around the world.

Last year, KBPO analysis showed that an all-time high of more than 2,450 industry representatives attended COP28 in Dubai. However, this year’s UN conference has fewer participants than in 2023 (52,305 and 97,372 respectively), which increases the proportion of members of this industry, classified as lobbyists by the organization, which rose from 25.2% to 33% .

As with last year’s COP28 climate talks in Dubai, “significantly more fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to COP29 than almost all country delegations,” according to the London-based body.

Fossil fuel numbers in Baku

The Kick Big Polluters Out coalition analyzed the provisional list of COP29 participants line by line, and pointed out that fossil fuel representatives received more passes to COP29 than all delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries combined (1,033).

The 1,773 fossil fuel sector representatives registered in Baku are outnumbered only by delegations sent by host Azerbaijan (2,229), COP30 host Brazil (1,914) and Turkey (1,862).

The survey considers a fossil fuel lobbyist to be any individual delegate who represents an organization or is a member of a delegation that can reasonably be assumed to have the objective of influencing the formulation or implementation of policies or legislation in the interests of the fossil fuel industry, or of a specific fossil fuel company and its shareholders.

For COP29, a manual classification system was combined with personalized artificial intelligence tools. The information was sent to a Large Language Model (LLM), which assessed whether the organization or delegation could be considered a fossil fuel lobbyist, providing an explanation and references.

The results were then manually checked by our researchers, as well as cross-referenced with our previous rankings from previous years.

Representatives at COP29 from business class associations

The study found that a vast number of fossil fuel industry representatives classified as lobbyists had access to the COP as part of a business association.

Eight of the top 10 commercial groups with the most subscribers came from the Northern Hemisphere. The largest was the International Emissions Trading Association, which signed up 43 people.

One of the members of the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition, Nnimmo Bassey, from the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, said:

“The fossil fuel lobby’s control over climate negotiations is like a venomous snake coiling around the future of our planet.

We must (…) take decisive action to remove their influence and make them pay for their infractions towards our planet. It’s time to prioritize the voices of those who have fought for justice and sustainability, not the interests of polluters.”

In the organization’s view, “the industry’s presence in Baku contrasts sharply with the stated goals of COP29, in which the end of fossil fuels, false solutions and climate finance are all important topics.”

Fossil fuel industry representatives were not registered at COPs

COP28 was the first in which participants were forced to reveal who they represent, after pressure from civil society.

The Kick Big Polluters Out campaign said in a statement it is calling on the UN climate body and governments to continue on the path towards a Robust Accountability Structure to address the problem at its root, to prioritize the millions of lives at risk from the climate crisis and the lack of action to address it, as happened with the tobacco industry in the World Health Organization tobacco treaty negotiations.

Rachitaa Gupta of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice said:

“For nearly 30 years, these actors have hijacked negotiations, sabotaging meaningful progress as our communities across the Global South bear the brutal weight of the climate crisis, but our voices remain marginalized in these critical discussions.

No more concessions. These polluters need to be driven out and it is time for us communities in the Global South — those who have contributed the least to this crisis but suffer the most — to lead and shape real and fair climate solutions instead of profit.”