Uproar over fossil fuel lobbyists in delegations

AT least 19 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists have secured places in national delegations at the final round of global plastics treaty negotiations in Geneva, triggering outrage from civil society groups and raising serious concerns over the integrity of the talks.

- S V Krishna Chaitanya @ Geneva

The revelation is part of a broader analysis by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), which identified a total of 234 fossil fuel and chemical lobbyists registered to participate in the fifth and final scheduled session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2). This is the highest industry presence recorded in the treaty process to date—and more than the entire delegation of the European Union and its 27 member states combined (233).

The 19 lobbyists have been formally included in the delegations of Egypt (6), Kazakhstan (4), China (3), Iran (3), Chile (2), and the Dominican Republic (1). Their inclusion gives them access to closed-door discussions and potentially even a voice in defining national positions on the treaty—a situation civil society groups say amounts to a direct conflict of interest.