Kick Big Polluters Out, a network of more than 450 organisations, is calling for stronger restrictions on oil, gas and coal interests within the UN climate process.
Speaking to Channel Africa this week, Climate Action Network Africa, Representative Baboucarr Nyang said the campaign wanted to prevent major polluters from shaping the rules governing climate action. “Our work is to ensure that big polluters don’t have space to dictate what is happening in this process,” Nyang said.
The coalition identified 103 companies and industry organisations linked to major polluting interests at COP31, including 60 connected to the fossil fuel industry.
Nyang said some corporate delegations were larger than those representing countries most vulnerable to droughts, floods and other climate disasters. “Their primary interest is corporate profit rather than supporting communities, including women in villages who are suffering from the climate crisis,” Nyang said.
The campaign also expressed concern that fossil fuel representatives were joining national delegations and gaining access to negotiation rooms.
Nyang said Kick Big Polluters Out was continuing to assess the scale of corporate representation among more than 75 000 people registered for COP31.
The fossil fuel industry has argued that technical expertise, infrastructure and capital from major energy companies are necessary for the transition to cleaner energy.
However, Nyang said many companies had known about the dangers of fossil fuels for decades and subsequently invested in climate denial and delayed action. “If the fossil fuel industry wanted to be part of the solution, the industry should not continue expanding extractive activities and delaying the transition,” Nyang said.
African communities were experiencing some of the earliest and most severe effects of climate change despite contributing comparatively little to global emissions, Nyang added.
The campaign is seeking greater representation and decision-making authority for frontline communities, women, civil society organisations and countries in the Global South.
Nyang said bringing community leaders to climate conferences could help ensure that negotiations reflected the lived consequences of drought, flooding and extreme weather.
The organisation also called for stronger unity among African governments and civil society groups to resist attempts by corporate interests to divide countries through investment offers and bilateral agreements. “We need to be united as people fighting for the environment and for communities affected by climate change,” Nyang said.
–ChannelAfrica–
