Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Flood UN Climate Summit as Industry Profits Soar
Brasília, Brazil – As the COP30 climate summit launches today in Brasília, concerns are mounting over the pervasive influence of the fossil fuel industry, with thousands of lobbyists gaining access to crucial United nations climate negotiations even as their companies reap record profits. The summit comes amid growing scrutiny of industry participation and calls for stricter conflict of interest rules, though advocates say reforms fall far short of what’s needed to address the climate crisis.
Recent data reveals the scale of industry presence at past summits. Over the past five years, the four major oil companies – Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, and Chevron - have collectively amassed over $420 billion in profits. Shell and BP reported profits of $39.9 billion and $23.5 billion respectively in 2023, while ExxonMobil and Chevron posted $36 billion and $32 billion, respectively.
This year’s summit is already drawing controversy. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods is slated to headline a launch event hosted by the US Chamber of commerce, titled “Pragmatic Business Solutions for Carbon Accounting and Emission Reductions.” Notably, the United States, legally obligated under international law to address the climate crisis, withdrew from the Paris Agreement and is not sending a formal country delegation to COP30.
Brazil’s state-owned oil company,Petrobras,which sent at least 28 lobbyists to the previous four climate summits,recently received a licence to begin exploratory oil drilling off the Amazon coast – a region vital to biodiversity and home to numerous Indigenous communities and approximately 10% of the planet’s known species. A Petrobras spokesperson stated the company will participate in COP30 to “discuss lasting models” and “contribute to international debates on climate and energy.”
Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, and Chevron did not respond to requests for comment.
Responding to years of pressure from civil society groups, COP delegates are now required to publicly disclose funding sources and confirm alignment with the objectives of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Though, the new rules exempt official government delegations and do not include stronger conflict of interest protections, a key demand of advocates.
“The new rules are a welcome start, but thay come decades too late… and transparency without exclusion is performative. You cannot claim to fix a process already captured by the very corporations burning the planet and fuelling wars,” said Mohammed Usrof, executive director of the Palestinian Institute for Climate Strategy. “The UNFCCC must move from disclosure to disqualification… without reform this process will not save the world, and rather, will just help bury it.”
A UNFCCC spokesperson acknowledged steps taken to enhance transparency, stating that “further improvements is an ongoing journey” and that national governments retain sole authority over delegation composition.
