THE WORLD’S LARGEST climate conference will require all attendees to disclose affiliations this year in a bid to rectify concerns about the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists on negotiations.

The annual COP summits, organised by the United Nations along with a different host country each year, see politicians and policymakers from around the world convene to make important decisions about climate actions.

Also in attendance at the conference are academics, activists, and media, with a wide range of events taking place over two weeks.

Analysis found that more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists attended COP27 in Egypt last November, sparking significant concerns about the industry’s sway over climate policy.

The UN body that oversees COPs – the UNFCCC Secretariat – has now changed its registration system for attendees to try to provide more transparency about who participates at the conferences.

Registration for COP28, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates in December, opened online today for prospective attendees.

The registration form asks participants to disclose the nature of affiliations, including whether they have a paid or unpaid relationship with a nominating entity.

Previously, a list of participants has been made publicly available with the details of each country’s delegation.

From COP28 onwards, the list will include all types of participants, including guests of the host country, ‘party overflow’ badges given by countries to attendees not included in its initial core delegation, media, and holders of courtesy and temporary pass badges. 

The list will record each attendee’s name, title, department, organisation, and type of affiliation.

Attendees can choose not to state the nature of their affiliation but will be recorded publicly on the list as having “declined to disclose”.

The UNFCCC Secretariat’s website outlines that “in recent years, the number of participants has been steadily increasing and the purpose of participation has diversified, with many activities going on in parallel with the core negotiation meetings”.

“The COPs have become large, yet there has not been full transparency in terms of who is participating in these climate change conferences.

“The changes that are being introduced are part of the secretariat’s overall efforts to increase the transparency of participation in the UN Climate Change process.”

COP28 has already come under the spotlight over the appointment of the head of the UAE’s national oil company as president of the summit.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Chief Executive Sultan al-Jaber, who is also the country’s minister of industry and special envoy for climate change, was named COP28 President in January.