Hundreds of agriculture lobbyists flock to COP29, analysis reveals

Hundreds of lobbyists with ties to the agricultural industry are attending COP29 in Baku, a new analysis has shown. 

Up to a third of global greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to come from the agricultural industry. Emissions from livestock alone make up almost a third of human-caused methane emissions, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). 

Despite this, representatives from some of the world’s biggest agribusiness companies are attending the UN climate conference, according to an analysis by investigative journalism outlet DeSmog and UK newspaper The Guardian. 

Which Big Agriculture companies have sent people to COP29?

The analysis found that a total of 204 agricultural delegates have been granted access to the talks.

They come from organisations such as food giant PepsiCo, animal pharmaceuticals company Elanco and JBS, the world’s largest meat company. 

Nestle, the world’s largest food company and Bayer, the world’s second-biggest pesticide company, have also sent delegates to the talks. Many of the others are also linked to powerful trade groups which represent the food sector. 

It is fewer agricultural delegates than the record-high number seen at COP28 in Dubai last year though the total number of people attending climate talks in Baku this year is lower. 

The analysis says that many of these agricultural delegates are also due to speak on panels and hold events at the summit where they will promote controversial technical solutions to bring down the sector’s emissions.  

Who brought the agricultural lobbyists?

Desmog and The Guardian found that nearly 40 per cent of delegates linked to the food sector came with country badges. This grants them “privileged access” to diplomatic negotiations, they say.  

COP30 host Brazil brought the highest number of agricultural lobbyists with a total of 25. Of the 52 delegates the analysis discovered from the meat and dairy sector, 20 came with the Brazilian government. 

Russia brought the second-highest number with 13 delegates from the fertiliser industry. 

Australia was next with five representatives from the National Farmers’ Federation – a group that has previously voiced opposition to measures aimed at cutting methane emissions from animal agriculture. 

Growing concerns over corporate influence at COP

Last year was the first year where delegates at COP were required to declare their affiliations. Before, many were able to fly under the radar at the annual climate conference.  

Desmog says it analysed a provisional list of more than 66,000 delegates at COP29 and looked for the largest corporations in major food sectors – meat and dairy, pesticide and fertiliser firms, food processors, commodity and seed traders, and grocery retail. 

It also searched the list for global and regional industry trade groups as well as national farmer unions and institutions that have corporate affiliations and/or a history of lobbying aligned with industry demands. 

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The analysis follows the revelation last week from the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition that 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to the talks. They eclipsed delegations from some of the most climate-vulnerable nations on the planet. 

The Center for International Environmental Law also found at least 480 lobbyists working on controversial carbon capture and storage tech were granted access. 

Growing concerns over the influence of corporate lobbyists haveled to calls for a reform of the COP process. 

On Friday, an open letter from a group of climate leaders including former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, and former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres highlighted the high number of fossil fuel lobbyists.

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“We cannot hope to achieve a just transition without significant reforms to the COP process that ensure fair representation of those most affected,” Figueres said.