Almost 500 Carbon Capture Lobbyists Granted Access to COP29 Climate Summit

More lobbyists for the controversial technology were present this year, despite debate about its viability

At least 480 lobbyists working on carbon capture and storage (CCS) have been granted access to the UN climate summit, known as Cop29, the Guardian can reveal. This is five more CCS lobbyists than were present at last year’s climate talks, despite the overall number of participants shrinking significantly from about 85,000 to about 70,000.

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CCS lobbyists at Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, outnumber the core national delegations from powerful nations including the US and Canada. Nearly half of the lobbyists were granted access as members of national delegations, including 55 invited as “guests” by the Azerbaijani government, which is hosting this year’s climate summit. These individuals were afforded greater access to negotiations, with what some at the conference are calling “red-carpet treatment.”

The figure, calculated by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and shared exclusively with the Guardian, comes amid concern from activists that the climate summit is too heavily featuring “false solutions.” Rachel Kennerley, a campaigner at CIEL, said: “This large presence of lobbyists is a confirmation that the carbon capture industry is working hard to promote the misguided CCS technology. But governments and companies simply cannot ‘clean’ their coal, oil, and gas by capturing and ‘managing’ emissions.”

On Friday, it was revealed that 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists have been granted access to the climate talks, including 132 invited by the host country. Many CCS lobbyists on the fossil fuel lobbyist list appear to be advocating for continued reliance on fossil fuels while promoting CCS as a decarbonisation tool.

CCS in National Plans and Industry Advocacy

CCS has been heavily promoted at Cop29 and has featured prominently in national decarbonisation plans submitted this week, including the UK’s and the UAE’s. The oil and gas industry has long advocated for CCS, as it could allow companies to continue selling fossil fuels while preserving their core business models.

But activists argue the technology is flawed, noting it is not yet scalable and does not address the local harms of fossil fuel extraction. Despite its branding as a climate solution, CCS has so far mostly been used to recover carbon from oil wells and then inject it back underground to extract more fuel – a process called enhanced oil recovery.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s leading climate authority, has stated that CCS should play a role in global decarbonisation plans. However, its leader warned last year that over-reliance on CCS technologies could push the world past climate tipping points.

Economic Viability and Risks of CCS

In 2022, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis found that underperforming carbon capture projects outnumbered successful ones by large margins. This year, they concluded that fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage are unlikely to compete economically with renewable-based solutions.

Rachel Kennerley of CIEL stated: “The significant number of CCS lobbyists at Cop29 highlights the fossil fuel industry’s substantial investment in attempting to secure its future, despite the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels.” She warned that large-scale CCS investments come with significant health and safety risks, and the technology could lock in fossil fuel use while wasting time and resources.

Carbon Markets and Negotiations

Negotiators approved rules on the use of carbon markets on the first day of the negotiations this week. A subsection of these rules could boost financing for CCS projects, raising concerns among campaigners.

CIEL’s analysis was based on the UN’s list of attendees and affiliations, cross-referenced with databases like the International Energy Agency and public records. Fossil fuel industry documents from a 2021 US congressional investigation suggested oil executives have long known about CCUS’s limitations while promoting it as a solution.

Industry Perspective on CCS

Olivia Powis, CEO of the Carbon Capture & Storage Association, said: “COP29 is an important opportunity for climate experts, business leaders, and governments to address climate change and adopt technologies that reduce emissions.”

“To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, as per the Paris Agreement, it is essential that we utilise all net zero transitional technologies available,” she said. “CCUS has an important role to play in the reduction of emissions levels through technologies that remove CO2 from the atmosphere, as well as decarbonising industries such as chemicals and cement.”