COP28: Record number of fossil fuel delegates at climate talks

The number of delegates at this year’s UN climate talks who are also linked to fossil fuel producers has quadrupled since last year, campaigners say.

Around 2,400 people connected to the coal, oil and gas industries have been registered for the COP28 climate talks.

This record number is more than the total attendees from the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change.

The jump is partly due to registration changes with attendees now required to be open about their employment.

The analysis was carried out by a coalition of green groups opposed to the presence of delegates linked to coal, oil and gas at the talks.

COP28 is the biggest climate conference ever held with some 97,000 politicians, diplomats, journalists and campaigners registered for the meeting,

But this new analysis suggests that 2,456 representatives of the coal, oil and gas industries and related organisations are also at the gathering in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

At COP26, in Glasgow, there were some 500 delegates with fossil fuel backgrounds.