Report: 1,602 Fossil-Fuel Lobbyists at COP30 — Outnumber Every National Delegation Except Brazil

More than 1,600 delegates representing oil, gas and coal interests attended COP30 in Belém, Brazil, according to a new analysis by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition. KBPO identified 1,602 fossil-fuel-affiliated participants — a figure that outnumbers the delegation of every country except the host, Brazil.

Key findings

The coalition found that roughly one in every 25 attendees at this year’s UN climate summit is tied to the fossil fuel industry. That tally represents a 12% increase from COP29 in Baku and is the largest concentration of fossil-fuel lobbyists at COP since KBPO began tracking participation in 2021. While raw numbers were higher at COP29 (1,773) and COP28 in Dubai (2,456), the share of attendees tied to fossil interests is higher this year because overall attendance in Belém was lower.

Five-year context and impacts

Over the past five years, KBPO says roughly 7,000 fossil-fuel representatives have gained access to UN climate summits — a period that has seen worsening extreme weather, persistent disinformation campaigns and record profits for oil and gas companies. The group warns such access raises serious concerns about corporate capture and the credibility of international climate negotiations.

“Another COP, same playbook. This is corporate capture, not climate governance,” said Lien Vandamme, senior campaigner on human rights and climate change at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).

Comparisons with vulnerable countries

KBPO highlighted stark comparisons with climate-vulnerable nations: fossil-fuel-affiliated lobbyists outnumbered the Philippines’ official delegation by nearly 50 to 1, Iran’s by 44 to 1, and Jamaica’s by 40 to 1. These comparisons come as countries on the front lines face increasingly destructive storms, drought and other impacts linked to climate change.

In July, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion warning that continued expansion, extraction, consumption and subsidization of fossil fuels may amount to an internationally wrongful act — a development that KBPO and other advocates say strengthens calls for limiting industry influence at the talks.

Who was identified

KBPO’s count of 1,602 includes delegates listed with trade bodies and industry groups: 148 with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); 60 with the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), which includes delegates from companies such as ExxonMobil, BP and TotalEnergies; and 41 with the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI/BNCI). Several wealthy northern countries also included industry representatives in their official delegations — for example, France listed 22 industry delegates (including the CEO of TotalEnergies) and Norway included six senior executives from Equinor.

Overall, only Brazil — with 3,805 delegates at COP30 — had a larger presence than the combined oil, gas and coal interests identified by KBPO.

Limits of the data and transparency concerns

These figures are likely conservative. A separate analysis by Transparency International found that more than half of country delegation members at COP30 either withheld or obscured their affiliations; some countries (including Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and Mexico) did not disclose affiliations for any official delegates. This lack of full disclosure, activists say, makes it difficult to assess the true scale of industry influence.

After years of civil society pressure, COP participants were this year required to disclose who funded their participation and to confirm alignment with UNFCCC objectives. However, the requirement excludes participants listed as part of official government delegations or overflow lists, and many campaigners argue stronger conflict-of-interest safeguards are still needed.

“While local Indigenous peoples struggled to enter the conference, fossil fuel lobbyists walked in freely,” said Pim Sullivan-Tailyour of the UK Youth Climate Coalition. “My generation deserves Just Transition policies that reflect what people and the planet need, not what polluters’ profits demand.”

Ivonne Yanez of Acción Ecológica warned that fossil-fuel companies continue to use climate summits to polish their image, pursue deals and avoid accountability — while expanding extractive operations, including in sensitive ecosystems such as the Ecuadorian Amazon.

A UNFCCC spokesperson said measures to improve transparency have been introduced and were developed in consultation with civil society and other stakeholders, but noted that national governments retain authority over who is included in their delegations and that further improvements remain an ongoing process. IETA and CNI/BNCI declined to comment; the ICC was contacted for response.