112 organisations tell Hoekstra not to bring fossil fuel lobbyists to COP29

As we approach COP29, more than a hundred civil society organisations have written to EU’s climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra asking him to not bring fossil fuel lobbyists to the UN climate talks as part of the EU delegation. The letter was sent on Monday 4th November 2024.

At last year’s climate negotiations, COP28, the EU and its member states brought more than 130 fossil fuel lobbyists, according to research by the Kick Big Polluters Out campaign. Hoekstra’s team brought in senior executives from Eni and BP, as well as ExxonMobil’s chief lobbyist in Brussels.

The letter, coordinated by the Fossil Free Politics campaign from 112 organisations in Europe and around the world, calls for fossil fuel lobbyists to be treated similarly to tobacco lobbyists, who are banned from the delegations of countries that have signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This includes the European Commission and all EU member states.

A similar message is being passed to national-level ministers in 9 countries across Europe: members of the Fossil Free Politics coalition in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the UK have all called on their governments to not bring fossil fuel lobbyists to COP29.