Peace is protecting the Earth. Peace is not advancing militarism that pollutes the air, water, and land while destroying ecosystems.
Environmental destruction is violence—against communities, future generations, and the Earth itself.
“Another COP, Same Playbook”: Fossil Fuel Lobbyists at COP 30
After going into overtime on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Belém, Brazil, delegates at the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) were deadlocked. They could not agree on a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. The longstanding divisions among parties were clear.
In 2021, Kick Big Polluters Out exposed that over five previous years, 7,000 fossil fuel lobbyists had access to the U.N. climate summits even as there was a “rise in catastrophic extreme weather, disinformation and oil and gas profits.” COP 30 boasted over 1,600 accredited fossil fuel lobbyists, with one to every 25 delegates, outnumbering even the largest delegations. While efforts have been made to require attendees to disclose who they represent, compliance has never been assured, meaning many lobbyists likely attended incognito.
Lien Vandamme, senior human rights and climate change campaigner at the Center for International Environmental Law, put it this way: “Another COP, same playbook. This is corporate capture.”
Now, in a time when global temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions have broken all records, “Global South countries, public officials, UN constituencies and civil society are calling that polluters be denied participation in future COPs.”
Breakthrough at COP 30 Signals Transition Away from Fossil Fuels
For the first time, amid global outrage, pressure succeeded in getting the phrase “to transition away from fossil fuels” included in the final COP 28 document. However, Saudi Arabia successfully insisted at Azerbaijan’s COP 29 that the earlier language on “transitioning away from fossil fuels” not be included in future documents.
Despite a strong push from President Lula’s Brazilian team and allied nations for a roadmap away from fossil fuels, opposition came from the Arab group of 22 nations, Russia, and developing nations intent on their own industrialization—though many delegates remained determined to move forward.
As anticipated, Saudi Arabia insisted that this historic statement not appear in future documents. This reveals a fundamental flaw that has prevented COP meetings from fulfilling their core mission: the requirement for consensus decision-making. Veto power has undermined the COP process since its inception.
Throughout a tense night of negotiations, delegates grappled with whether to abandon the talks entirely. A breakthrough came on Nov. 22 when the chief Saudi negotiator agreed to allow the phrase “the UAE consensus” to reference the original COP 28 agreement—critically, without including the explicit text “to transition away from fossil fuels.” This compromise preserved multilateral cooperation and averted the complete collapse of COP 30.
More importantly, it was announced to wild cheering that the first International Conference for the Phase-Out of Fossil Fuels outside the COP process, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, will meet April 28-29, 2026, in Santa Marta, Colombia. The goal is to create a roadmap to halt the expansion of fossil fuels, establish fair timelines for an equitable phase-out of coal, oil, and gas, and create financial support for developing nations during their just energy transition—all to ensure no worker, community or country is left behind while keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as agreed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
We encourage you to read WILPF International’s report, “COP 30 in Review: Wins for Justice, Woes for Finance, Fossil Fuels and Militarism,” to gain further insight and deepen your understanding of this topic.
Mobilize for Climate Justice with the Earth Democracy Committee
On Jan. 3, Bill McKibben published his article, “Just possibly it’s the oil?” McKibben’s chart of the ten largest countries by oil reserves as of 2024 shows Venezuela with 303 billion barrels and the US with only 74 billion barrels.
In order to challenge Trump’s plan to run Venezuela and benefit “big oil,” the Earth Democracy Committee is mobilizing to challenge fossil fuel expansion and environmental harm. We aim to pass a local fossil fuel treaty that foregrounds climate and environmental justice and race, equity, and democratic inclusion—two of the focus areas of WILPF US’s Peace Is/Peace is Not campaign.
To organize for a fossil-fuel-free future with the Earth Democracy Committee or to ask questions about these topics, please email earthdemocracy@wilpfus.org.
To learn more about these issues, the Earth Democracy Committee recommends reading “Who Benefits? Cui Bono?” by Charlotte Dennett.
