COP29: A PLAYGROUND FOR LOBBYISTS?

At #COP29Baku, lobbyists had a field day with oil & gas, carbon markets & agriculture interests featured heavily. A total of 1773 fossil fuel lobbyists attended the climate talks, alongside 204 agricultural lobbyists and 480 carbon capture influencers.

Are the UN #climate talks slowly being captured by lobby groups?

At this COP, fossil fuel lobbyists were the 4th largest delegation. These influencers were more than all delegations at the summit, except three.

Coal, oil and gas lobbyists were more than the entire delegation (1033) of the top 10 most climate-vulnerable countries combined.

By comparison, only Azerbaijan (the host - 2229), Brazil (COP30 host -1914) and Turkey (Azerbaijan’s neighbour – 1862) had more people in their delegations than fossil fuel influencers.

In total, nearly 500 Carbon Capture (CC) lobbyists were present at COP29.

Culprit countries

Out of the total oil and gas influencers at COP29, 120 of them had been sponsored by the countries in the European Union (EU). Italy had sponsored 27 fossil fuel lobbyists, Greece 24 and Belgium and Sweden 17 each.

In total, 10 European countries were responsible for sending ff lobbyists to COP29, mostly camouflaged in national delegations.

Carbon capture lobbyists

In total, nearly 500 Carbon Capture (CC) lobbyists were present at COP29.

Statistically, carbon capture influencers were more than the UK (470), US (470) and Australian (394) delegations. By comparison, only a handful of countries such as Russia (900) and Japan (595) had larger delegations than the carbon capture lobbyists.

What does it mean to have carbon capture lobbyists at a COP?

The oil and gas industry has been advocating for the controversial Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology for years. Meanwhile, climate experts dismiss these technologies as a greenwashing attempt to delay the inevitable: a total fossil fuel phaseout.

Carbon capture doesn’t work, lock ff lobbyists out of COPs

There is no evidence that Carbon Capture and Storage technologies work and are, therefore, considered ‘‘false solutions’’. Allowing them as the primary vehicle to decarbonise gives oil companies an excuse to continue extracting and selling their destructive products.

To allow carbon capture lobbyists access to diplomatic climate negotiations gives them free rein to make deals to secure the future of fossil fuels even as the world seeks to phase them out.

Industrial farming lobbyists

A total of 204 agriculture lobbyists attended COP29, with 52 coming from the meat and dairy sectors. About 40% of agricultural lobbyists were traveling on country badges.

The lobbyists came from agribusiness multinationals, animal pharmaceutical companies and fertiliser manufacturers. Others included food processing giants and trade groups.  

Food sector corporations at COP29

COP29 was a playing field for multinationals in the food and beverage industry, collectively known as Big Food, including meat and dairy giants.

Some of the food sector companies at the COP were JBS USA, the world’s largest meat company, Elanco and agricultural multinational Bayer. Others were US beverage corporation PepsiCo and Nestlé.

At 35, Brazil had the largest delegation of agriculture sector lobbyists at COP29, followed by Russia at 13 and Australia at 5. The US too had a sizeable ‘‘Big Agriculture’’ and ‘‘Big Food’’ delegation of lobbyists in Baku.     

So, what is the danger of agriculture lobbyists at climate negotiations?

Agriculture lobbyists are bullish and highly influential at summits. By traveling on country badges, lobbyists can access high-level negotiations while concealing their true agenda at major events.

At global summits such as the COP, agricultural delegates speak on panels and hold side events to promote their controversial technologies and ‘‘false solutions’’ aimed to decarbonise agriculture and the food sector.   

‘‘It’s a disaster to allow agriculture lobbyists at COPs,’’ says Ndivile Mokeona, the project coordinator at Gender CC.  ‘‘They come pretending to be keen on addressing food insecurity in the world while promoting unsustainable practices.’’ 

The adaptation expert and advocate for smallholder rights says industrial farming is carbon intensive and degrades the environment, ultimately reducing soil fertility and the arability of land.

Adds Ndivile: ‘‘If we continue to allow representatives of agricultural multinationals at COPs, we risk having agroecology and other organic farming practices wiped out of negotiations. We must protect smallholder and Indigenous farmers.’’

Agriculture accounts for a third or about 33 percent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs). Industrial agriculture has come under scrutiny for its overreliance on synthetic fertilisers based on fossil fuels and its role in deforestation – especially in the Amazonian region.

Meat and dairy producers have been in the spotlight in recent years due to increasing pollution from cattle and sheep. UNEP says livestock alone accounts for a third of the global output of methane, a greenhouse gas. 

The European and American agribusiness players have been lobbying hard against tougher environmental laws that would disrupt their operations. This explains their prominent presence at major climate summits.

Can Brazil host COP30 free of lobby groups’ influence?

Brazil will host next year’s climate summit, COP30. Having facilitated one of the highest numbers of lobby groups at COP29, however, concerns are emerging that lobbyists could influence the proceedings and outcomes in Belém.

For many experts, Brazil’s COP offers an attractive opportunity to push for ambitious reforms in the food systems globally. For many, this is finally a moment to advance the adaptation agenda in the climate discourse.

But can the South American economic powerhouse host a COP free of lobbyists’ interference? Can the COP shake off its infiltration with lobbyists?