With COP30 well underway in Brazil, the global fossil fuel lobby is working hard to preserve its industries. Coal, oil and gas giants are once again joining producer states in actions that are typically most evident at the annual climate summit.
More than 5,000 fossil fuel lobbyists have had access to UN climate talks over the past four years. Their roles are less about the open denial of climate change than advocating for market-oriented solutions, such as carbon capture and storage, whose impact would be minimal over the timescale needed to prevent climate breakdown.
This lobbying follows decades of more direct actions by some of the world’s major oil companies, with Texas-based Exxon being a leading actor. Exxon has especially focused its efforts on influencing governmental and public attitudes to climate change across the Global South.
