BELEM: Lobbyists tied to the fossil fuel industry have turned up in strength at the UN climate talks in the Brazilian Amazon, an NGO coalition said Friday, warning that their presence undermines the process.
A total of 1,602 delegates with links to the oil, gas and coal sectors have headed to Belem, equivalent to around one in 25 participants, according to Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO), which analyzed the list of attendees.
By comparison, hosts Brazil have sent 3,805 delegates.
The list compiled by KBPO includes representatives of energy giants ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and TotalEnergies, as well as state-owned oil firms from Africa, Brazil, China and the Gulf.
But it also includes personnel from a broad range of companies such as German automaker Volkswagen or Danish shipping giant Maersk, or representatives of trade associations and other groups.
The Venice Sustainability Foundation is on the list because its members include Italian oil firm Eni.
KBPO also counted Danish wind energy giant Orsted, as it still has a gas trading business, and French energy firm EDF — most of its power comes from nuclear plants but it still uses some fossil fuels.
The list includes state-owned Emirati renewable firm Masdar.
One of the analysts, Patrick Galey, head of fossil fuel investigations at Global Witness, told AFP that some of the names might appear “surprising” at first sight, but KBPO analyzes data and open source material to identify those linked to fossil fuels.
Any renewable company that is a subsidiary of a fossil fuel firm made the list, for instance, because they are “at the beck and call” of their parent group, Galey said.
KBPO said it considers a fossil fuel lobbyist any delegate who “represents an organization or is a member of a delegation that can be reasonably assumed to have the objective of influencing” policy or legislation in the interests of the oil, gas and coal industry.
KBPO started analyzing official lists of COP participants in 2021.
COP28 in oil-rich Dubai in 2023 had a record number of participants — over 80,000 — but also the most fossil fuel lobbyists ever counted by KBPO at 2,456, or three percent of the total.
In Belem, 3.8 percent of attendees are tied to fossil fuel interests, the largest share ever documented by KBPO.
The UN began publishing a more comprehensive list of participants at COP28, making historical comparisons tricky.
“It’s common sense that you cannot solve a problem by giving power to those who caused it,” said Kick Big Polluters Out member Jax Bonbon from IBON International in the Philippines, which was recently struck by a devastating typhoon.
“Yet three decades and 30 COPs later, more than 1,500 fossil fuel lobbyists are roaming the climate talks as if they belong here,” Bonbon said in a statement.
The numbers could be higher.
According to Transparency International, 54 percent of participants in national delegations either withheld their affiliation or selected a vague category such as “guest” or “other.”
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Fossil fuel lobbyists out in force at Amazon climate talks: NGOs
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Fossil fuel lobbyists out in force at Amazon climate talks: NGOs
Taiwan says China deploys warships in ‘military operations’
TAIPEI: Taiwan said Friday that China had deployed warships for “military operations” stretching hundreds of kilometers from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea, posing a “threat” to the region.
Beijing, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, neither confirmed nor denied the maneuvers.
Taiwan’s defense ministry and other security agencies were monitoring China’s activities and had a “complete grasp of the situation,” presidential office spokeswoman Karen Kuo told reporters.
She did not say how many Chinese ships were involved in the deployment, but a security source told AFP the number was “significant.” The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The operations were not limited to the Taiwan Strait, but extended from the southern Yellow Sea, to the East China Sea near the disputed Diaoyu Islands and on into the South China Sea and even the Western Pacific, Kuo said.
“This indeed poses a threat and impact on the Indo-Pacific and the entire region,” she said.
Taiwan urged China to “exercise restraint,” Kuo said, adding: “We are also confident that we can handle this matter well.”
Neither China’s armed forces nor state media have announced any increased military activity in the region where Taiwan said Chinese ships had been detected.
Beijing’s foreign ministry did not answer directly when asked if the military was amassing a large number of naval vessels in those waters.
“I want to emphasize that China has consistently followed a defensive policy,” spokesman Lin Jian told a regular press briefing.
“The Chinese navy and coast guard strictly operate in relevant waters according to Chinese domestic law and international law,” Lin said.
He urged “relevant parties” not to “overreact or... engage in groundless hype.”
China has refused to rule out using force to take Taiwan, and also claims contentious sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea.
Taiwan’s intelligence chief Tsai Ming-yen said Wednesday that October to December was the “peak season” for China’s “annual evaluation exercises.”
There was a possibility that China’s ruling Communist Party could turn seemingly routine military activities into drills targeting Taiwan, Tsai warned.
Beijing, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, neither confirmed nor denied the maneuvers.
Taiwan’s defense ministry and other security agencies were monitoring China’s activities and had a “complete grasp of the situation,” presidential office spokeswoman Karen Kuo told reporters.
She did not say how many Chinese ships were involved in the deployment, but a security source told AFP the number was “significant.” The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The operations were not limited to the Taiwan Strait, but extended from the southern Yellow Sea, to the East China Sea near the disputed Diaoyu Islands and on into the South China Sea and even the Western Pacific, Kuo said.
“This indeed poses a threat and impact on the Indo-Pacific and the entire region,” she said.
Taiwan urged China to “exercise restraint,” Kuo said, adding: “We are also confident that we can handle this matter well.”
Neither China’s armed forces nor state media have announced any increased military activity in the region where Taiwan said Chinese ships had been detected.
Beijing’s foreign ministry did not answer directly when asked if the military was amassing a large number of naval vessels in those waters.
“I want to emphasize that China has consistently followed a defensive policy,” spokesman Lin Jian told a regular press briefing.
“The Chinese navy and coast guard strictly operate in relevant waters according to Chinese domestic law and international law,” Lin said.
He urged “relevant parties” not to “overreact or... engage in groundless hype.”
China has refused to rule out using force to take Taiwan, and also claims contentious sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea.
Taiwan’s intelligence chief Tsai Ming-yen said Wednesday that October to December was the “peak season” for China’s “annual evaluation exercises.”
There was a possibility that China’s ruling Communist Party could turn seemingly routine military activities into drills targeting Taiwan, Tsai warned.
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