Who gets a seat at the table? The fossil fuel lobby at COP31

Thousands of people, from world leaders and government officials to civil society representatives, are preparing for the next UN climate negotiations: the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31), taking place in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9–20 November.

Among those following the preparations, there is growing debate about this year's priorities. As in previous years, expectations are high for an “implementation COP” – one that turns existing climate commitments into concrete action. Getting nearly 200 governments, including those whose economies remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels, to agree on an ambitious transition away from coal, oil and gas is already a major challenge. But it becomes even harder when one in every 25 participants at last year's COP30 was a fossil fuel lobbyist, according to research by the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition.

Imagine tobacco industry representatives attending an international conference on preventing lung cancer. The comparison may seem extreme, but it highlights the problem: those with a direct financial interest in maintaining the status quo are given access to negotiations meant to address the very problem their industry contributes to.

And Europe has some homework to do. According to newly published research by Fossil Free Politics, the European Commission and EU Member States brought a total of 332 fossil fuel representatives from almost 100 organisations to COP28, COP29 and COP30. Some even used their access to pursue new business opportunities. Italy, for example, brought representatives of gas transporter Italgas to COP29, where they signed a new gas distribution deal with Azerbaijan's state-owned oil company.

Italy topped the list, bringing 55 fossil fuel lobbyists to the three conferences, followed by France (48) and Belgium (47). Among the most frequently represented companies were Italy's Eni, with 16 badges, and France's EDF and ENGIE, with 14 each.

This influence is particularly concerning given Europe's worsening climate and energy crises. Last summer, called the “summer of truth” by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, saw 35,000 excess deaths and at least 180 billion EUR in damage across the continent. Meanwhile, Europe's continued dependence on imported fossil fuels leaves households and businesses exposed to volatile energy prices.

Eni offers a telling example of how corporate influence can undermine climate commitments. While publicly supporting methane emission reductions, the company holds leadership positions in IOGP and Eurogas, two industry organisations that have actively lobbied to weaken the EU Methane Regulation. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and cutting its emissions is essential to slowing global warming. Following industry pressure, the European Commission proposed delaying the implementation rules by one year, while the European Parliament voted to postpone implementation until 2030.

As Upton Sinclair, an American writer, famously observed, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

Climate negotiations must serve the public interest, not the commercial interests of an industry with a financial stake in prolonging fossil fuel dependence. That is why the European Branch of The Climate Reality Project is among the signatories of a letter to EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, calling for stronger conflict-of-interest rules and safeguards to protect the integrity of climate negotiations. Earlier this year, we also contacted the governments of France, Italy, Sweden, Portugal and Norway, urging them not to grant COP accreditation to fossil fuel industry representatives as part of their national delegations.

COP31 is an opportunity for European governments to demonstrate that their climate commitments are more than words. The question is whether they will finally put the public interest before fossil fuel profits.