EU Urged to Bar Fossil Lobbyists From COP31
Fossil Free Politics asks the European Commission and Italy, France and Belgium to deny accreditation to fossil fuel executives at the next UN climate talks.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Oil and Gas
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Fossil Free Politics has called on EU governments to exclude fossil fuel lobbyists from their COP31 delegations. The group wrote to the European Commission and to Italy, France and Belgium urging them to refuse accreditation, including overflow badges, to industry representatives.
Why it matters
Overflow badges give fossil fuel representatives access to key decision-makers and private negotiating spaces at UN climate talks. Critics argue that industry presence can shape negotiations on emissions policy.
Italy brought 55 fossil fuel representatives, France 48 and Belgium 47 across COP28 to COP30, with fossil lobbyists making up 14% of Belgium's overall delegation. Italian Eni was the most frequently accredited company with 16 representatives, while EDF and ENGIE each had 14.
The players
Fossil Free Politics
A campaign group that tracks fossil fuel industry influence on climate policy and pushes for the exclusion of industry lobbyists from international climate negotiations.
Eni
An Italian multinational energy company that was the most frequently accredited fossil fuel firm in EU delegations to the three recent UN climate conferences.
The details
Fossil Free Politics says the access fossil fuel representatives gained came through party overflow badges. The group also flagged that Eni, ENGIE and Fluxys have lobbied against implementation of the EU Methane Regulation.
Timeline
COP28 through COP30 were held between 2023 and 2025, the period covered by the accreditation data.
Fossil Free Politics published its call to exclude lobbyists from COP31 on November 1, 2026.
Industry Dynamics
The accreditation counts across COP28 to COP30 show EU delegations including a large fossil fuel presence, which is now being challenged ahead of COP31. The call places the EU's own delegation makeup at the centre of the debate over industry access to climate talks.
Decisions made at COP31 on emissions and energy policy will shape the regulatory environment for fuel prices and energy supply. Readers can track published delegation lists to see which industry representatives are accredited.
The takeaway
Who gets into the room at climate talks is itself a policy question. Watching published accreditation lists is a practical way to see whose interests are represented.
What happens next
Fossil Free Politics will analyse the COP31 delegations of the European Union and Italy, France and Belgium once the data becomes publicly available.
Further reading
For more on the industry behind these delegations, see Oil and Gas coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Corporate Europe Observatory.
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