At least 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists have been granted access to the United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Those lobbyists outnumber the delegations of almost every country at the conference, the analysis from the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition shows, with the only exceptions being this year’s host country, Azerbaijan, next year’s host Brazil, and Turkey.
Days before the talks kicked off, Elnur Soltanov, Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister and chief executive of COP29, was caught on film agreeing to facilitate oil deals at the negotiations.