COP26: Largest delegation in the fossil fuel industry

By: Ryan Oswald, Staff Reporter, The Pawprint

There are more delegates at COP26 associated with the fossil fuel industry than from any single country. 

Campaigners led by Global Witness assessed the participant list published by the UN at the start of the meeting, and found that 503 people with links to the industry had been attending the summit.

These delegates have been said to lobby gas and oil industries, and campaigners say they should be banned. 

“The fossil fuel industry has spent decades denying and delaying real action on the climate crisis, which is why it’s such a huge problem.” says Murray Worthy from Global Witness.

Global Witness, Corporate Accountability, and others who have carried out the analysis define a fossil fuel lobbyist as someone who is a part of a delegation of a trade association or is a member of a group that represents the interests of oil and gas companies.

“What we see is the putting forward of false solutions that appear to be climate action but actually preserve the status quo, and prevent us from taking the clear, simple actions to keep fossil fuels in the ground that we know are the real solutions to the climate crisis.” Worthy says.