Climate Conference 2025: Focus on lobbyists – Who owns the future?

Climate Conference 2025: Focus on lobbyists – Who owns the future?

The mood is heated at the current UN climate conference, which is taking place from November 6th to 17th in Belém, Brazil. With over 50,000 participants, including 1,600 representatives from oil, gas and coal companies, it is one of the largest climate summits in history. The influence of the fossil fuel lobby is perceived as alarmingly loud, as one in 25 participants is associated with companies that contribute to the climate crisis. This record number even exceeds most countries, apart from the Brazilian delegation itself, reported Daily Mirror.

Behind the scenes, economic animosity and ideological resistance ensure that ambitious climate goals are often pushed into the background. Countries are skeptical about implementing climate policy, especially when it is used as a scapegoat for business failures. Resistance to climate protection is particularly pronounced in right-wing conservative governments, with countries such as Poland and other Eastern European countries being particularly critical of climate policy MDR.

Lobbying and climate protection

The dominance of the fossil fuel lobby at the conference raises questions about how serious climate protection really is. The influence of this lobby has already been visible in recent years, and at this conference too fossil companies are trying to assert their interests with all their might. Critics worry that the presence of so many lobbyists could significantly hinder progress on climate protection. At the previous climate conference in Dubai, OPEC was present and called for not moving away from fossil fuels, explained Lobby control.

The discussion about phasing out fossil fuels is a central topic of the conference. Fortunately, there are also efforts to further advance the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. This requires the contracting states to submit concrete plans to achieve the 1.5 degree target every five years. So far, however, there is a large gap in the implementation of national climate protection plans, which is not exactly optimistic.

A ray of hope in the shadows of the lobby

Despite the adverse circumstances, there are some positive developments. One of the key initiatives of COP30 is the creation of the Tropical Forest Fund (TFFF), which aims to promote the protection of tropical rainforests. A fund with a target value of $125 billion is to be set up to secure this valuable habitat. Germany has already announced that it will contribute one billion dollars to this fund, which can be seen as a positive sign for international cooperation on climate protection.

Although the results of the conference are still unclear and the negotiations are not taking place publicly, it remains to be hoped that progress will actually be made, even if the influence of fossil fuels is omnipresent. It remains important that states take these challenges seriously and show that ambitious climate goals are feasible even in challenging economic times.