Open letter to UNFCC and Brazilian COP30 leadership to address fossil fuel lobby influence

CRIN has joined Transparency International and 250+ groups calling for immediate action to end high polluters lobby’s grip on UN Climate Talks at COP30 in Brazil. The coalition calls for immediate reforms, including the exclusion of polluting industry lobbyists, enhanced transparency standards and a revised COP Presidency selection process.

18 March 2025

Dear Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil; Dear André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, President of COP30; Dear Ana Toni, CEO of COP30,

Dear Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),

In 2024 our planet crossed the 1.5 C global warming limit for the first time, recording the hottest year in history. From devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, to catastrophic floods in Brazil and South Asia, to droughts in the Amazon and Central Africa - we are entering a perilous new reality that demands urgent climate action. However, for too long, fossil fuel lobbyists have swarmed COPs, the annual global climate negotiations. Together with other high polluting industries (for example, in Brazil, from the agrobusiness sector) they have been delaying progress for phasing out fossil fuels, reducing emissions, and to protect the health, wellbeing and livelihoods of communities. As global temperatures edge to irreversible tipping points, we cannot afford this anymore.

Today, we - a coalition of organizations, advocates, and citizens who believe that transparency and accountability are essential for meaningful climate action - are calling on the Brazilian COP30 Presidency and the UNFCCC to confront high-polluting industries’ undue influence in climate negotiations and restore trust in the COP process.

Brazil’s leadership presents a unique opportunity to reset the course of climate diplomacy. We welcome the government’s ambition for COP30 to set higher standards, and its plans for holding a “Global Ethical Stocktake“. We call on the Brazilian Presidency to organise the Stocktake by the June 2025 climate meetings in Bonn, with sessions on undue influence, conflicts of interests (see for example Accountability Framework) and COP Presidency selection, with recommendations for reforms to future COPs.

The following measures should be implemented voluntarily by the Brazilian COP Presidency in the short-term, and formally by the UNFCCC in the long-term:

Conflict of Interest Policy: Fossil fuel and high polluting industry lobbyists should no longer be shaping negotiations. We call for their exclusion from state delegations and the adoption of a robust conflict of interest framework for all COP participants. We encourage the Brazilian Presidency to take voluntary measures for its own Delegation and Presidency Team and urge the UNFCCC to adopt policy reforms binding future COPs.
Transparency Standards: All delegations, lobbyists, and COP organisers should always publicly declare their true (and multiple if relevant) affiliations at COPs, with this information displayed on a centralised, publicly accessible platform. We call on the UNFCCC to address gaps by adopting an appropriate transparency policy within its code of conduct, and work with the Brazilian Presidency to ensure higher standards for COP30.
Host Country Agreements (HCAs) & Partnerships: COP Presidency partnerships with high polluting industries should end. HCAs should be conditional of UNFCCC approval based on clear selection criteria of partners explicitly excluding fossil fuels and other high polluting industries. HCAs and related partnerships need to be timely published on the Secretariat’s website.
Reformed COP Presidency Selection: Future COP hosts should demonstrate tangible progress on Paris Agreement in national climate action plans and commitment to human rights. COP Presidencies should be free of lobbyists from high polluting industries. The UNFCCC needs to adopt a process for this.

A transparent, accountable framework that prioritizes people over polluters will rebuild trust in the COP process and accelerate progress toward the Paris Agreement goals. Without these reforms, global climate diplomacy risks remaining a hollow exercise, incapable of addressing the most urgent crisis of our time.

We urge the Brazilian Presidency to act quickly by organizing the Global Ethical Stocktake and implementing possible voluntary measures on (1) Conflicts of Interest and (2) Transparency Standards. We call on all Parties and the UNFCCC Secretariat to adopt reforms for permanent policy changes in all the above points. COP30 is more than just another summit - it is a test of the global community’s will to confront the climate crisis with integrity and ambition. We urge you to act.

Sincerely,

Child Rights International Network

Signatories:

Transparency International
Oxfam International
Amnesty International
World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)
Human Rights Watch
Greenpeace International
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)
Global Witness
Friends of Earth International
Climate Action Network International (representing 1900 groups from 130 countries)
Climate Action Network Europe (with 200 member organizations representing 1700 groups across 40 countries)
UNCAC Coalition (with 400 organizations in over 120 countries, committed to promoting the ratification, implementation and monitoring of the UN Convention against Corruption)
Public Services International (Federation of more than 700 trade unions representing 30 million public service workers in 154 countries)
Global Climate and Health Alliance (with 200+ organizations from across 125 countries)
Earth4All
Center for International Environmental Law
Client Earth
The Climate Reality Project
International Land Coalition
Earth Rights International