A “record” number of fossil fuel lobbyists have registered to take part in the last scheduled round of UN talks to agree a new global pact to tackle plastic pollution, according to the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
The advocacy group identified 221 representatives of oil and gas and petrochemical companies and industry bodies on the provisional list of participants at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) taking place in Busan, South Korea, this week.
After a fraught two-and-a-half-year negotiating process, 175 countries are expected to agree on a landmark treaty by Sunday aimed at ending plastic pollution. But deep divisions over the core issues being discussed in Busan – including a potential cap on plastic production – have stalled progress, putting the outcome on a knife edge.
“Moment of truth” for plastic pollution as treaty talks get underway
The vast majority of nations support the inclusion of curbs on plastic manufacturing in the pact. But a vocal and powerful group of oil and gas-producing countries – led by Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran – strongly oppose the move, pushing for a narrower focus on managing plastic consumption and waste.
Consensus is the preferred way of making decisions at the UN talks, so resistance from even a small minority can potentially block a deal.
‘Foxes in the henhouse’
Similarly, dozens of fossil fuel firms, plastic producers and lobby groups for the petrochemical industry that are actively involved in the negotiating process back efforts to keep production curbs out of the UN treaty.
ExxonMobil, Dow, BASF and Sabic are some of the companies with the largest number of representatives on the list for INC-5.
Von Hernandez, global coordinator at the Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) movement, said that “allowing fossil fuel and petrochemical companies to exert their influence in these negotiations is like letting foxes guard the henhouse”.
Global plastics pact “hangs in balance” as petrostates block talks
“We have watched industry lobbyists surrounding the negotiations with sadly well-known tactics of obstruction, distraction, intimidation, and misinformation,” said Delphine Levi Alvares, global petrochemicals campaign manager at CIEL.
A spokesperson for the INC Secretariat told Climate Home that all private sector observers registered for the talks have provided their name, affiliation and home organisation “to aid transparency”.
They said a code of conduct to prevent harassment applies to all UN meetings. Participants are regularly reminded of this code and encouraged to report any issues to the UN Department for Safety and Security or to the INC Secretariat, who will follow-up “immediately”, the spokesperson added.
Déjà vu
Concerns over fossil fuel lobbyists at the plastics talks reflect long-standing criticism over the corporate capture of UN climate negotiations. Almost 1,800 fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to the COP29 climate summit in Baku this month – more than the government delegates of the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries combined.
While the overall number of fossil fuel lobbyists at the plastics talks is lower than at climate conferences, their weight is much greater. They make up close to 6% of total registered attendees in Busan – nearly double the share of fossil fuel lobbyists on the COP29 participants’ list.
CIEL said it had counted the highest number at INC-5 from among the five rounds of negotiations for the plastics treaty so far. Taken together, fossil fuel and chemical sector lobbyists would form the largest single delegation at the meeting in Busan, significantly outnumbering the host South Korea’s 140 representatives.
A minority are embedded directly within countries’ official contingents. CIEL spotted 17 fossil fuel lobbyists in national delegations at the Busan conference, from China, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, Iran, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Peru.
But the overwhelming majority sign up as part of trade association delegations that have the status of observers at the talks.
Big petchem
Representatives from ExxonMobil, Dow, BASF and Sabic are listed under a number of petrochemical industry groups, including the International Council of Chemical Associations and its regional counterparts in Canada, Australia and Europe.
These companies are pouring more money into their plastics divisions, building new manufacturing plants across the globe and ramping up production capacity. Fossil fuel giants see the plastics market as a promising replacement for power and transport in a clean energy future, as plastics production relies on oil and gas – and is predicted to double or triple by mid-century.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, these corporate giants strongly oppose the inclusion of any manufacturing curbs in the UN plastics treaty.
BASF – which has four participants on the list for Busan – wrote in a position statement that production cuts and “de-listing” of materials or products could “lead to regrettable environmental and socioeconomic consequences”.
And a senior executive at ExxonMobil – which sent five representatives to INC-5 – said ahead of the Busan talks that “it’s been reassuring to hear leaders share their belief that such measures [production curbs] could deprive the world – particularly the developing world – of the untold benefits plastics deliver”.
Similar arguments have also been put forward by diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran in the negotiating rooms in Busan.
Alongside individual companies, the petrochemical industry can also make its voice heard at the talks through sizable delegations from industry associations.
The American Chemistry Council and Plastics Europe have registered seven and four people respectively for the session in Busan. Equivalent organisations from many industrialised countries are also on the list.
‘So unjust’
The INC secretariat spokesperson told Climate Home “it is up to each member state or accredited organisation to select and nominate their delegation to INC sessions”.
Civil society groups, meanwhile, are calling for “strong” conflict of interest policies and disclosure of lobbying activities within the process.
Production curbs needed for strong global pact on plastic pollution, campaigners say
Matt Perryman, a Kaupapa Māori social scientist and researcher, described it as “so unjust” that Indigenous representatives at the talks are “so outnumbered by industry”.
He told reporters that lobbyists also try to exert their influence over Indigenous and scientists’ groups at the talks.
“There are lots of attempts to sway perspectives and make sure we don’t end up with the treaty that we need and that takes corporations to account,” he added.
(Reporting by Matteo Civillini; editing by Megan Rowling)
The post Fossil fuel lobby secures “record” access to crunch talks on new plastics pact appeared first on Climate Home News.
Fossil fuel lobby secures “record” access to crunch talks on new plastics pact
China’s rapidly-expanding clean energy generation and deepening electrification has made the country more resilient to energy shocks, bolstering its position ahead of the COP31 climate talks in Türkiye, where speeding up the world’s electrification is set to dominate.
The growth of China’s renewable energy capacity protected it from the economic fallout from the energy crisis triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) published on Thursday.
As oil and gas stopped flowing through the key fossil fuel trade route, leading prices to soar, China’s crude oil imports – the largest in the world – fell sharply, leading the country to start drawing down on its reserves and curbing its exports of petroleum products.
“Yet, the import reduction did not produce the economic and social disruption in China one might normally expect from a shock of this scale,” the report found.
As temporary adjustment cushioned the oil-import shock, clean power and the electrification of the transport sector buffered the economic costs.
The rise of renewable energy and nuclear power have reduced China’s fossil fuel imports bill by more than $9 billion since 2020, more than any other country, according to CREA.
“China remains exposed to imported fuels, particularly where oil is used as a chemical feedstock, but reducing fossil-fuel demand already contributes to energy security,” said Qi Qin, the report’s author.
The view from Beijing: vindicated
CREA’s analysis found the roll-out of electric vehicles (EVs) displaced 38 million tonnes of oil equivalent between March and August, equivalent to around 13% of China’s crude oil imports in the same period the previous year.
China’s ongoing reliance on coal-fired power plants also protected the country against oil and gas supply disruptions, although coal power generation remained broadly flat in the six months since the start of the Iran war, according to the report.
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Li Shuo, director of China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told Climate home News that China’s all-of-the-above approach to energy development has provided the country with the strategic flexibility to face the oil shock.
“While China has often been criticised in previous years for moving too slowly away from coal, this year’s global energy market volatility has given Chinese policymakers a renewed sense of confidence. There is a growing sentiment in Beijing that recent events have vindicated China’s energy strategy as both prudent and pragmatic,” he said.
Can China support the electrification pledge?
Despite its vast cleantech build-out and rapid electrification boosting its energy resilience, China has stopped short of endorsing an initiative by COP31 host Türkiye to increase the global share of electricity to 35% in final energy use by 2035.
Li Gao, vice minister at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, who will lead the Chinese delegation at COP31, told a press conference the electrification target was in line with Chinese policy. “We believe that increasing electrification levels will help promote a green and low-carbon energy transition and address climate change,” he said.
China’s position on the electrification initiative is one of the major questions hanging over the COP31 talks beginning in Antalya next week.
“What is clear is that China has the most to gain from accelerated electrification because of their manufacturing capabilities,” said Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance.
In 2026 alone, China’s exports of solar panels, batteries, EV and other cleantech are on track to avoid emissions equivalent to Brazil’s annual emissions.
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China’s industrial engine starts to break its fossil fuel habit
Despite a rebound in coal generation this year, clean energy from wind and solar is gaining ground on the fossil fuels that have powered decades of industry growth -
COP31 electrification pledge leaves out clean power commitment
Campaigners and experts say the goal’s effectiveness in reducing emissions may be limited unless countries agree to meet it using only clean energy
Türkiye’s proposal doesn’t include a commitment to produce the power from clean energy, nor does it explicitly link electrification to the transition away from fossil fuels – issues on which the EU has signalled it is ready to push back.
But Chinese analysts say Beijing is unlikely to support linking a global electrification goal to commitments on phasing out fossil fuels.
Former French climate envoy Laurence Tubiana, the outgoing CEO of the European Climate Foundation, told Climate Home News that the EU and developed countries such as Brazil – which is influential within the BRICS group of large emerging economies – have a responsibility to push China to show leadership in the talks.
Driving the world’s electrification
The electrification of the Chinese economy has outpaced that of any other major economy.
In the US and the EU, the share of electrification has stagnated just above 20%. In China, it has doubled since 2005, reaching close to 30% in 2025.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects China will remain the single largest driver of global electricity demand growth through to 2030, as it electrifies its manufacturing sector as well as growing demand for cooling and EV charging.
Over the next five years, the IEA forecasts that China will increase its electricity consumption by as much as the total electricity consumption of the EU today.
In August, the Chinese government set a target to boost the share of electricity in its final energy consumption to 35% by 2030 – five years ahead of Türkiye’s proposed goal.
From laggard to frontrunner
Clean-power growth and electrification could meet all of China’s rising power demand, according to CREA. By 2030, this would mean renewable and nuclear energy could reach 54% of power generation – exceeding China’s target to generate half its electricity from non-fossil sources by the end of the decade.
Clean electricity already met all of China’s demand growth in 2025. “The challenge lies in sustaining such growth over several years,” said Qin.
From Beijing’s perspective, the global targets such as the electrification pledge “no longer appear particularly ambitious or threatening”, said Li, of the Asia Society Policy Institute.
“China, long perceived as a climate laggard, is increasingly moving ahead of countries in the Global North. A global ceiling target is increasingly only a floor for China,” he emphasised.
The post Clean power shields China from oil shock more than any other country appeared first on Climate Home News.
Clean power shields China from oil shock more than any other country
On 3 November, the Brazilian presidency of the COP30 climate talks released its long-awaited “roadmap” on ending deforestation.
Ahead of the Belém summit, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made a call for a “roadmap” to halt and reverse deforestation.
Although this voluntary roadmap was outside the COP’s official agenda, it snowballed into a rallying point at the “Amazon” COP.
By the end of the summit, 93 countries had signed on to the deforestation roadmap, committing to develop voluntary pathways to reverse forest loss and degradation by 2030.
The Brazilian presidency called on countries to describe what a pathway away from deforestation could look like, what challenges and support they needed.