| Today, we reveal that 500 fossil fuel lobbyists have been admitted to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. If the fossil fuel industry were a country, it would have by far the largest number of delegates at COP26.That’s almost twice as many fossil fuel representatives as there are members of the UN’s official Indigenous groups, and larger than the delegations of Puerto Rico, Haiti, Philippines, Mozambique, Bahamas, Bangladesh and Pakistan combined. While representatives from civil society and activists from countries most affected by climate change have struggled to gain access to this vital climate conference due to a litany of logistical issues, hundreds of fossil fuel lobbyists have flooded the venue, championing the interests of big polluters and bending the ears of decision-makers. Corporations which are complicit in driving the climate crisis – from fossil fuel firms to banks – spend millions lobbying. Over decades, they have worked hard to convince politicians that these same companies which have brought the world to the brink of climate disaster are the ones that have the solutions to get us out of this mess. In reality, they are stuck in toxic friendships with the companies fuelling the crisis.This is how corporations fuelling the climate crisis get themselves a seat at the table. Earlier this year we revealed the fossil fuel companies with disproportionate influence and access to the European Union, and how they’re pushing for support to continue burning fossil fuels. Lobbyists from Big Tobacco wouldn’t be welcome at a conference on lung cancer. To get the urgent climate action we need, it’s time to kick big polluters out of climate policy. Onwards, The Global Witness Team |
