Do Polluters Belong at COP30?

A coalition of more than 225 organisations has issued a public letter from Kick Big Polluters Out, urging the COP30 Presidency to put people, not polluters, at the centre of this year’s UN climate talks in Belém. 

The letter responds to the COP30 President Designate’s seventh open message, which invites global business leaders to the summit and frames climate action as “the Defining Business Opportunity of Our Time”. 

Signatories argue that positioning the private sector at the heart of the negotiations, without explicit safeguards against greenwashing and conflicts of interest, risks further eroding trust in the UN process and weakening outcomes for communities and nature.

Corporate capture concerns at COP

The letter contends that corporate influence over climate policymaking is systemic, not incidental. 

It highlights decades of lobbying, disinformation and high-profile sponsorships by fossil fuel and other high-emitting industries. 

Recent presidencies, it says, have elevated fossil fuel insiders while civil society and Indigenous Peoples face ongoing barriers to meaningful participation. 

Against this backdrop, an invitation to business to “show the world what climate leadership looks like” is portrayed as detached from the reality that many polluting companies and their advisers are directly implicated in the crisis.

Signatories warn that casting the COP as “the world’s largest marketplace of transformational climate solutions” risks turning negotiations into a stage for reputational burnishing rather than real, equitable progress. 

They argue this framing conflicts with stated priorities to reinforce multilateralism and strengthen global governance. 

With the decade half gone, the letter calls for outcomes that accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels and other emissions-intensive sectors, rather than giving them prominence at the negotiating table.

However, the COP leaders disagree, urging that it will be beneficial for both the environment and economy.

“Hosting COP30 in Brasil will leave significant legacies for the city of Belém, in the state of Pará and the entire country,” says Valter Correia, Executive Secretary of COP30.

“We have already observed a significant increase in tourism in the state in 2024, compared to 2023. 

“In addition, the whole world is focused on the reality and challenges of the Amazônia, which, in itself, already represents a transformative impact." 

A call for an accountability framework

The coalition urges the Presidency, Parties and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat to establish a robust Accountability Framework to guard the talks against vested interests. 

It notes that the UNFCCC lacks a clear definition of “conflict of interest” and has few safeguards compared with other global processes. 

While recent moves to strengthen transparency from COP30 are welcomed, the letter stresses that transparency is not the same as accountability and that stronger governance is overdue.

"We are working to ensure that tourists who come to Belém may visit our Amazon Rainforest and stay longer, having a memorable and sustainable experience,” says Marcelo Freixo, President of Agência Brasileira de Promoção Internacional do Turismo.

“What is at stake at COP30 is a new development model for humanity. 

“We will show, in practice, how tourism is an activity connected to the posed challenges and can promote sustainability, generating employment and income with positive impacts for the environment and for the communities that receive visitors."

Four commitments to restore credibility

To rebuild trust and ensure effective outcomes, the signatories set out four immediate commitments for COP30: 

• A polluter-free COP with no sponsorships or promotion by polluting corporations
• A polluter-free Presidency with no leadership roles for those closely tied to high-emitting industries, including ending the partnership with PR firm Edelman
• Advancing a formal Accountability Framework to protect all future COPs from corporate capture
• Resisting the commodification of nature by protecting the Amazon and keeping fossil fuels in the ground. 

With “now is the moment for action” as the Presidency’s own refrain, the coalition concludes that meaningful, equitable climate action can only take hold when those most responsible for the crisis are no longer setting the terms of debate.