COP must ditch fossil fuels to get serious about climate

Global Witness calls for the removal of fossil fuel industry influence from the COP process, citing conflicts of interest and the industry's role in the climate crisis. The organization highlights instances of fossil fuel lobbyists and petrostate officials leveraging their positions at COP29 and previous summits to broker oil and gas deals, arguing that such influence undermines the diplomatic efforts required to transition away from fossil fuels.

• Global Witness alleges that COP29 officials have used the summit to facilitate fossil fuel business, specifically noting that a leading figure in the COP29 team helped broker potential oil and gas deals for a prospective sponsor.
• The document claims that the selection of 'petrostates' as COP hosts creates a conflict of interest where political leadership and the pollution industry are indistinguishable, citing the COP29 Minister of Energy's links to Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas company and the previous COP president's role as head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
• The fossil fuel industry is accused of shifting its strategy from direct climate denial to attempting to position itself as 'part of the solution' through the sponsorship of events like COP while continuing to increase production.
• Global Witness asserts that the goals of fossil fuel companies to continue extraction and burning are fundamentally incompatible with the scientific necessity for the world to move away from fossil fuels.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). COP must ditch fossil fuels to get serious about climate. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/cop-must-ditch-fossil-fuels-to-get-serious-about-climate/

Chicago

Global Witness. COP must ditch fossil fuels to get serious about climate. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/cop-must-ditch-fossil-fuels-to-get-serious-about-climate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Witness |title=COP must ditch fossil fuels to get serious about climate |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/cop-must-ditch-fossil-fuels-to-get-serious-about-climate/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalwitnessndcop, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{COP must ditch fossil fuels to get serious about climate}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/cop-must-ditch-fossil-fuels-to-get-serious-about-climate/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }