Over 100 groups linked to fossil fuels attend COP31 summit
What's the story
The ongoing UN climate talks in Turkey, COP31, has seen an unprecedented participation from 103 groups with ties to fossil fuels. The analysis by the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition, which includes some 450 environmental organizations, shows that these groups have a history of impeding climate action or advancing fossil fuel interests.
Attendance surge
Who is attending COP31?
COP31 in Antalya is the biggest of its kind in three decades, with over 92,000 delegates.
The massive attendance includes many groups that are either funded by or advocate for coal, oil, and gas interests.
Of the 103 groups at COP31, 60 are fossil fuel industry bodies while 16 are financial firms that fund fossil fuels.
Delegation details
Major fossil fuel lobbyists at COP31
Among the largest delegations at COP31 are the International Emissions Trading Association with 29 members, BNP Paribas, HSBC, and Amazon.
Oil firm Exxon has a 13-member delegation in Antalya while TotalEnergies and BlackRock each have five members.
These fossil fuel lobbyists have long been a part of UN climate talks with one in every 25 participants at last year's summit in Brazil being a fossil fuel lobbyist.
Advocacy for disclosure
Environmental advocates call for transparency
Environmental advocates have called for greater transparency and conflict of interest disclosures from those attending and influencing climate talks.
US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a prominent climate advocate at COP31, said, "The ticket to entry to this badge should be a disclosure form in which you lay out exactly who you funded in the climate space with how much, when."
Financial support
Major banks financing fossil fuels
Major banks continue to provide significant financial support for coal, oil, and gas projects.
At COP31, 30 banks account for over $2.2 trillion in fossil fuel financing over the last five years.
Some of the largest banks at this summit include JPMorganChase, Citigroup, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Bank of America and Barclays which all provide billions of dollars in funding for fossil fuels.