Guterres to COP29: Time is not on our side
He said every economy is at risk of far greater fury due to global warming.
3d agoEMMANUEL WANJALARealtime
Civil society organisations have caused a stir at the ongoing climate change talks in Azerbaijan accusing big polluters of sponsoring lobbyists.
They say that there are at least 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists who have been granted access to the COP29 summit in Baku, underscoring an outsised polluter presence year after year at crucial climate talks.
Armed with a huge caricature of a snake, the civil society organisations called for the weeding out of what they termed as a ‘snake.’
Eric Njuguna, a youth climate justice organiser based in Nairobi said they are in Cop29 ‘calling out the snakes, fossil fuel industry.’
“They have yet for another year sent a huge delegation of over 1,700 delegates even though this conference is much smaller than previous ones,” Njuguna said noting their influence in every climate talk concerns them.
“We cannot have the same industry that we are trying to kill in the negotiations with a huge conflict of interest. That is why we are calling for a conflict-of-interest policy to push polluters out and people in.”
Civil society organisations say as with last year’s COP28 climate talks in Dubai, significantly more fossil lobbyists have been granted access to COP29 than almost every country delegation – the 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists registered in Baku are only outnumbered by delegations sent by host Azerbaijan (2229), COP30 host Brazil (1914), and Türkiye (1862).
The Kick Big Polluters Out coalition analysed the provisional list of participants at COP29 line-by-line.
Among the additional topline findings: Fossil fuel lobbyists have received more passes to COP29 than all the delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable nations combined (1033), underscoring how industry presence is dwarfing that of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
A vast number of fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to the COP as part of a trade association.
Eight of the top 10 trade groups with the most lobbyists came from the Global North.
The largest was the International Emissions Trading Association, who brought 43 people including representatives from Big Polluters.
Kick Big Polluters Out Member Nnimmo Bassey from Health of Mother Earth Foundation, said: “The fossil fuel lobby’s grip on climate negotiations is like a venomous snake coiling around the very future of our planet. We must expose their deceit and 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 been fighting for justice and sustainability, not the interests of polluters.”
The KBPO findings come at the end of a year in which global temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions shattered records, and amidst evidence of fossil fuel complicity in genocide in Palestine via the supply of oil and gas to Israel.
They also come amidst revelations that many of the world’s largest fossil fuel corporations have approved US$250 billion in oil and gas expenditure since COP28.
Industry presence in Baku stands in stark contrast to the stated aims of COP29, where ending fossil fuels, false solutions, and climate finance are all hot topics.
It further substantiates the growing call from Global South countries, public officials, UN constituencies, and wider civil society to eject polluters from talks.
