Campaigners say 1,602 lobbyists for oil, gas and coal are accredited to the UN climate conference in Belém, a total compiled from UNFCCC records by the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition. The group — backed by Transparency International, Global Witness, Greenpeace and the Climate Action Network — found 164 lobbyists attached to government delegations and 599 with access to inner negotiation circles. Campaigners are urging the UN to bar major polluters from future summits to prevent undue influence on climate talks.
1,602 Fossil-Fuel Lobbyists Accredited to UN Climate Talks in Belém — Campaigners Demand Ban
Campaigners say 1,602 lobbyists for oil, gas and coal are accredited to the UN climate conference in Belém, a total compiled from UNFCCC records by the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition. The group — backed by Transparency International, Global Witness, Greenpeace and the Climate Action Network — found 164 lobbyists attached to government delegations and 599 with access to inner negotiation circles. Campaigners are urging the UN to bar major polluters from future summits to prevent undue influence on climate talks.
01:30 PM, 11/14/2025Environment
1,602 fossil-fuel lobbyists accredited to UN climate talks in Belém, activists say
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, is focused on urgent measures to curb global warming. However, campaigners from the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition say at least 1,602 lobbyists representing oil, gas and coal interests are officially accredited to attend, based on publicly available records from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The coalition — backed by Transparency International, Global Witness, Greenpeace and the Climate Action Network — warns that industry representatives now hold more access passes than the combined delegations from the 10 countries judged most vulnerable to climate change.
Many lobbyists are listed as members of trade or business associations that are permitted to send observers to UN climate meetings. The coalition's analysis found that 164 lobbyists were accredited via government delegations, and that 599 of roughly 1,600 have credentials allowing them entry to inner negotiation circles and closed sessions.
Ivonne Yanez, Accion Ecologica (Ecuador): "Governments that invite oil, gas and coal representatives are accomplices in environmental crimes."
Campaigners argue that permitting major polluters into close negotiations creates risks of undue influence — in formal negotiations, behind closed doors, in corridor conversations and at informal side meetings. The coalition is urging the UN to bar major polluting companies from future summits to protect the integrity of climate talks.
Burning oil, gas and coal releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that drives global temperature rise. At the 2023 climate conference in Dubai, all 200 countries agreed in principle to transition away from these fossil fuels, yet many governments continue to plan expansions of oil, gas or coal production and use.
Source: Kick Big Polluters Out coalition analysis of UNFCCC accreditation data; reporting from the Belém conference.