EcoWatch
Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    Home Climate

    More Than 600 Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Attend COP27

    By: Olivia Rosane
    Published: November 10, 2022
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Delegates arrive at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt
    Delegates arrive at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt on Nov. 7, 2022. MOHAMMED ABED / AFP via Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    At last year’s COP26 UN climate conference in Glasgow, there were more representatives from the fossil fuel industry, at more than 500, than from any individual country. 

    At this year’s climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, that number has increased by more than 25 percent. An analysis from Corporate Accountability, Corporate Europe Observatory and Global Witness found that there were at least 636 fossil fuel lobbyists registered at COP27, more than the combined delegations of the 10 countries most impacted by the climate crisis. The findings renewed calls to ban fossil fuel representatives from attending climate talks. 

    “If you want to address malaria, you don’t invite the mosquitoes,” Phillip Jakpor of Public Participation Africa told BBC News. “As long as we have the fossil fuel lobby and machinery in full swing, we will not make progress and we have not made progress.” 

    🔴BREAKING

    Over 600 #FossilFuel lobbyists have been granted access to the #COP27 climate talks – that’s 25% more than last year.

    The UN needs to kick big polluters out if it's serious about delivering #ClimateAction. #PeopleNotPolluters https://t.co/buqqv3rq0i pic.twitter.com/42VOk56tZl

    — Global Witness (@Global_Witness) November 10, 2022

    The analysis counted which of the more than 30,000 COP27 delegates either had ties to a company that did a substantial amount of business in fossil fuels or were present as part of a trade group representing fossil fuel interests. These included major oil and gas companies like Chevron, Shell and BP. Because the analysis relied on publicly available data and delegates’ self-disclosure of their industry connections, it is likely to be an underestimate. It also doesn’t include representatives of other climate-polluting industries like agribusiness and plastics.

    The number of fossil fuel representatives that were uncovered by the analysis was greater than any single country’s delegation except the UAE, which has 1,070 members. However, 70 of those members are also fossil fuel lobbyists. Including the UEA, 29 countries had fossil fuel lobbyists as part of their delegation. Russia had the next highest amount at 33. Canada’s delegation included three representatives from Enbridge, an energy company building a controversial pipeline between the U.S. and Canada known as Line 3 which is opposed by Indigenous communities. 

    The fossil fuel lobby was much larger than that of frontline communities. In addition to outnumbering the delegation of the 10 most impacted countries, it also outnumbered the delegation of any one African country and the total Indigenous delegation, Kick Big Polluters Out noted. 

    “The explosion in the number of industry delegates attending the negotiations reinforces the conviction of the climate justice community that the industry views the COP as a carnival of sorts, and not a space to address the ongoing and imminent climate crisis,” Kwami Kpondzo from Friends of the Earth Togo said, as The Guardian reported. 

    More than 450 organizations have backed the call to Kick Big Polluters Out, arguing that fossil fuel interests should be restricted at climate meetings in the same way that tobacco lobbyists are prevented from contributing to public health policy, Global Witness said. The coalition has four main demands that anyone can endorse by signing a petition: 

    1. Ban polluters from participating in climate negotiations.
    2. Don’t allow polluters to greenwash their images by sponsoring climate talks or initiatives, as Coca-Cola is doing by sponsoring COP27.
    3. Facilitate the full participation of civil society, which has been restricted at COP27 especially by Egypt’s anti-protest laws.
    4. Create a new system that favors a just transition over capitalist growth. 

    The argument in favor of admitting industry representatives to climate negotiations like the COPs is that private companies can potentially play an important role in transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, according to The Guardian. 

    More From EcoWatch
    • Is Solar Right For Your Home?
    • How to Lower Your Energy Bill
    • How to Conserve Energy

    The United States Council for International Business said banning private interests from COPs would “damage and slow implementation [and] marginalise one of the most central constituencies in the UNFCCC process,” according to The Guardian.

    However, activists are concerned that the large number of fossil fuel representatives would actually make meaningful climate action impossible. 

    “Tobacco lobbyists wouldn’t be welcome at health conferences, arms dealers can’t promote their trade at peace conventions. Those perpetuating the world’s fossil fuel addiction should not be allowed through the doors of a climate conference. It’s time governments got out of the pockets of polluters, come to their senses and help make COP27 the success the world vitally needs it to be,” a spokesperson for the groups behind the report said in a statement. 

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Olivia Rosane

      Olivia Rosane is an environmental journalist with a decade’s worth of experience. She has been contributing to EcoWatch since 2018 and has also covered environmental themes for Common Dreams, Atmos, Rewilding, Seattle Met, Treehugger, The Trouble, YES! Magazine and Real Life. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and a master’s in Art and Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Facing Climate Anxiety With Visual Comedy: 'World Without End' Graphic Artist Christophe Blain
      Jean-Marc Jancovici is a well-known lecturer in France, and on
      By Craig Thompson
      UN Climate Expert Urges Criminalization of Fossil Fuel Disinformation to Protect Basic Human Rights
      United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights Elisa Morgera on
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      EPA Employees Sign ‘Declaration of Dissent’ Over Trump Administration Policies
      A group of more than 170 employees of the United
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • River Seine in Paris Reopens for Public Swimming for the First Time in 100 Years
          by Paige Bennett
          July 7, 2025
        • Facing Climate Anxiety With Visual Comedy: ‘World Without End’ Graphic Artist Christophe Blain
          by Craig Thompson
          July 5, 2025
        • Certain Gut Microbes Found to Absorb Ingested PFAS: Study
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          July 3, 2025
        • Higher Levels of PFAS Found in Waterways Downstream From Wastewater Treatment Plants: Report
          by Paige Bennett
          July 3, 2025
        • UN Climate Expert Urges Criminalization of Fossil Fuel Disinformation to Protect Basic Human Rights
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          July 2, 2025
        • EPA Employees Sign ‘Declaration of Dissent’ Over Trump Administration Policies
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          July 1, 2025
        • Threatened Heath Fritillary Butterflies See Major Population Increase in England
          by Paige Bennett
          July 1, 2025
        • Personal Care Products Like Shampoo Can Harm Aquatic Life: Study
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          July 1, 2025
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 558k
          Twitter 222k
          Instagram 52k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of Use
          • Cookie Preferences
          • Do Not Sell My Information
          © 2025 EcoWatch. All Rights Reserved.

          Advertiser Disclosure

          Our editorial team is committed to creating independent and objective content focused on helping our readers make informed decisions. To help support these efforts we receive compensation from companies that advertise with us.

          The compensation we receive from these companies may impact how and where products appear on this site. This compensation does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides within our content. We do not include all companies, products or offers that may be available.