The Cop31 climate conference in Antalya has drawn more than 92,000 registered delegates, making it the largest UN climate summit in three decades. According to research by the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition—a network of roughly 450 environmental organizations—103 groups with histories of obstructing climate action or promoting fossil fuel interests are represented at the talks. These delegations include 60 fossil fuel industry bodies, 16 financial firms that fund fossil fuel projects, six agricultural organizations, three technology companies, and 20 cross-sector groups.
The largest delegations from these aligned interests include the International Emissions Trading Association with 29 attendees, major banks such as BNP Paribas and HSBC, Amazon, and fossil fuel companies including Exxon with 13 representatives and TotalEnergies with five. BlackRock, a major financier of fossil fuel projects, also maintains a presence with five delegates. In comparison, Nepal—a nation severely impacted by climate change that experienced a devastating glacier collapse earlier this year—has fewer delegates than some of these individual corporate delegations.
Environmental advocates have highlighted concerns about transparency and conflict of interest issues. Financial institutions with representatives at Cop31 have collectively provided over $2.2 trillion in fossil fuel financing over the past five years, according to analysis of 30 banks attending the summit. Nearly one in five participants chose not to disclose their delegation affiliations, and some attendees are registered under government delegations despite corporate affiliations. Notable examples include BlackRock appearing within France’s delegation and the chief executive of Exxon attending as part of the US Chamber of Commerce delegation.
Calls for greater accountability have come from prominent figures including US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who advocated for mandatory disclosure forms detailing funding activities in the climate space. Environmental groups characterized the presence of fossil fuel interests as counterproductive given record global temperatures and recent climate disasters. Meanwhile, TotalEnergies responded to criticism by referencing its transition strategy and emissions reduction commitments, stating the company attends such conferences to help drive industry progress.
Additional scrutiny has focused on attendee transportation, with Oxfam reporting 94 private jet flights to Antalya since the conference’s opening weekend—23 times the average rate. Among registered attendees are 18 billionaires with combined wealth near $200 billion, including both climate advocates and individuals with significant fossil fuel industry connections.
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