Fossil-fuel companies have more people at the UN’s climate summit than the 10 countries most affected by climate change do combined

Fossil-fuel companies have more people at the UN’s climate summit than the 10 countries most affected by climate change do combined

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt – World leaders hashing out critical climate issues at the United Nations' summit in Egypt have company: 636 fossil-fuel lobbyists are among the attendees. The lobbyists' presence worries experts, because their business interests often stand in opposition to the summit's goal of reducing climate change-causing greenhouse gases, while still providing the world with power. The fossil fuel industry has more representatives at the conference than any single nation, except the United Arab Emirates, according to a from Global Witness, and more representatives than the sum of the 10 countries most affected by climate change. Identifying how much power these lobbyists have in negotiations is tricky. One-third of the fossil fuel lobbyists Global Witness identified are registered as part of national delegations, according to Dominic Kavakeb, a spokesperson for Global Witness. That makes it tough to tell whose interests they support. "What we do know is that through national delegations they enjoy privileged access and that they represent an industry that has a financial interest in the continued burning of fossil fuels," Kavakeb told Insider. "For a summit on protecting the climate, this is a recipe for disaster," Kavakeb added. Many of those lobbyists are pushing for the