2023-12-12 07:20:27
► “We must prohibit the presence of the fossil fuel industry in negotiation spaces”
Nicolas Haeringercampaign director for the environmental NGO 350.org
“2,456 fossil industry lobbyists were officially accredited during COP28. This is four times more than last year and almost twice more than the sum of the delegations of the ten states most threatened by global warming such as Somalia, the Solomon Islands and even Sudan! And the lobbying goes all the way to the head of the COP since its president, Sultan Al Jaber, is himself the CEO of an oil company. However, this figure is only a minimum: some lobbyists do not declare themselves as such, even if the UN now encourages participants to indicate who their employer is.
Negotiation is about putting pressure, working to convince people. Physical presence necessarily has an important effect in exchanges, otherwise the COP would not have a unity of place and time. The fossil fuel industry is there to weigh in on the debates day and night, meet the negotiators, influence them… This is also the mission of the climate justice movement, which brings together NGOs. The difference is that there are only a good thousand people at the COP.
Especially since NGOs represent the general interest, are accountable to their members where companies aim to maximize their profit and seek a good return on investment. At the COP, industrial lobbyists are not just there to do greenwashing: they also sign contracts and do business through meetings on the sidelines of the event. We, on the other hand, are there to expose them, to remind people that their presence is nonsense.
One of the most egregious cases this year is that of the presence of Patrick Pouyanné(CEO of TotalEnergies, Editor’s note) in the French delegation. This gives him the opportunity to attend the negotiations, without taking part directly. It is symbolic: it proves that the French government considers that the presence of a businessman at the head of an oil company is legitimate and must even be facilitated. It has access to negotiation spaces from which even NGOs are excluded, with the exception of the WWF, also invited to the French delegation this year.
Managing the presence and influence of these actors, who defend their own interests, is essential for moving in the right direction. For example, for the Conferences of the Parties (COP) of the World Health Organization (WHO) for tobacco control, representatives of the tobacco industry are prohibited from entering the negotiation spaces. This seems obvious: we must reach the same decision with the fossil fuel industry during the climate COPs.
Furthermore, NGOs are also demanding that the agendas of official representatives and other state mission leaders be made public. This would make it possible to identify who they meet and when, in order to trace the circuits of influence that take place during the COPs. »
► “An NGO is as much a lobby as an oil group”
Philippe Chalminprofessor of economics at Paris-Dauphine University
“First of all, I think we need to define what a lobby is. A lobby is a group of people who seek to influence a decision. This word has taken on a negative connotation: public opinion considers that lobbies defend commercial interests. But if we refer to the initial definition, an environmental NGO is as much a lobby as an oil group. In this sense, it does not seem shocking to me that the CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, accesses the negotiating rooms at COP28, just like the WWF.
It is up to political leaders to listen to everyone and then make their decision. We must trust the negotiators and their ability to sort through the different opinions. The presence of lobbies is inherent to any event of this type. It is better for them to be included in the COP rather than excluded. Indeed, in such a negotiation, it is essential that everyone has been heard.
Furthermore, defining as lobbies those who do not defend the general interest is, in my view, not wise. Indeed, faced with NGOs who explain that they are not lobbies because they defend the general interest, the oil industry can respond that it represents tens of thousands of jobs.
That being said, we must not turn a blind eye. The COP takes place in Dubai, at the heart of a petromonarchy. Its president, Sultan Al Jaber, is head of the UAE national oil company. In passing, paradoxically, I notice that his position requires him to obtain important results, and that he wets his shirt more than presidents in the past. The United Arab Emirates neighbors Saudi Arabia, which dominates OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The latter, which has a stand at the COP, is slamming on the brakes and refusing any agreement that would mean an exit from fossil fuels. In a letter made public in recent days, its secretary general, Haitham Al Ghais, « presse » its members and their delegations “proactively reject any text or wording that targets energy, i.e. fossil fuels, rather than greenhouse gas emissions.” Saudi Prince Abdelaziz Ben Salman has announced that he will release $50 billion to help developing countries adapt to climate change.
The latter believe that developed countries, which bear historical responsibility for climate change, do not help them enough to embark on the transition. Saudi Arabia is well aware of this. It is therefore very likely that this announcement was made in a lobbying logic to put pressure on them, so that they side with the petromonarchies and block a final text which would mention an exit from fossil fuels. »
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