Belém, Brazil, 14 Nov 2025 – New analysis shows that one out of every 25 COP30 participants comes from the fossil industry, making this the highest proportion in thehistory of the Climate Summit. These findings indicate the growing erosion of the integrityof climate negotiation processes, especially as the main drivers of the crisis gain increasingaccess and influence in policymaking.
On the fifth day of COP30, as part of the pushback against this phenomenon, the KBPOcoalition held an action titled “Kick Off The Suits” in the COP30 area to highlight themassive influence of fossil lobbying that threatens the world’s commitment to slowingglobal warming.
“It is very clear that we cannot solve a problem by giving power to those who caused it. Butafter three decades and 30 COPs, more than 1,600 fossil industry lobbyists roam theclimate talks as if they deserve to be there. It is ironic to see their influence deepen yearafter year, making a mockery of this process and the communities who bear theconsequences. Just days after flash floods and a super typhoon hit the Philippines, and inthe midst of worsening droughts, heatwaves, and displacement in the Global South, we areseeing the very actors who caused this crisis given a stage to push ‘false solutions’ for theirown benefit—solutions that undermine hopes of truly addressing the climate emergency,”said Jax Bongon of IBON International. “COP30 was promised as an ‘Implementation COP,’yet it has so far failed to meet the most basic demand: removing major polluters from aconference that is supposed to address the crisis they created.”
A similar situation can be seen in the Indonesian Pavilion, sponsored by coal companiessuch as Adaro, Medco, and Bayan, as well as nickel companies operating with captivecoal-fired power plants like Harita, IMIP, and IWIP—many of which have long records ofenvironmental destruction and conflicts with local communities.
“Every space given to the fossil industry at the COP is space taken away from our future,”said Ginanjar Ariyasuta, Coordinator of Climate Rangers, in a brief statement. “How canyoung people have hope for a fair, sustainable, and prosperous future if the actors of thiscrisis are given the stage to steer the discussions? We demand a process free fromconflicts of interest for the sake of a prosperous future for all.”
The stance of the Indonesian delegation—as it showcases a nickel industry powered bycoal—actually reflects the weakness of Indonesia’s energy commitments. To this day, thecountry continues to build new coal-fired power plants (CFPPs), even as the world agreesthat coal must be phased out before 2030. “Instead of ending reliance on dirty energy,Indonesia is pushing a massive expansion of captive CFPPs up to 26 GW to serve the needsof the nickel and smelter industry—ironically framed as part of a green industry,” Ginanjarexplained. “This construction of new CFPPs will inevitably burden the younger generation,who will have to clean up this mess in the future.”
