More than 300 Industrial Agriculture Representatives Attended COP30, Investigation Reveals

Recent findings indicate that more than 300 representatives of big agribusiness were present in the latest UN climate summit, taking place in the Amazon region of Brazil—where the industry is the leading cause of forest loss.

Significant Rise in Industry Representation

The number of lobbyists advocating for large-scale livestock production, grain commodities, and agrochemicals increased by fourteen percent compared to the previous climate conference in Azerbaijan. This delegation is even larger than the official delegation of the Canadian government, the world’s 10th largest economy, which sent 220 delegates to the climate talks in the Brazilian city of Belém.

Lobbyists Embedded in Official Delegations

A quarter of the agribusiness representatives—numbering seventy-seven—are participating at COP30 as part of official country delegations. A small number of six gained special entry to UN negotiations, where countries are meant to develop ambitious policies to address global climate catastrophe.

“More than 300 agribusiness lobbyists occupy the space at COP30 that should belong to the forest peoples. While they talk about energy transition, they release oil into the Amazon’s basin and privatize rivers like the Tapajós for soy. For us, this is not development, it is violence,” said Vandria Borari, of the Borari Kuximawara Indigenous Association.

Climate Consequences of Farming Practices

Farming is responsible for 25% to 33% of worldwide greenhouse gases, and experts say it will be unfeasible to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris agreement without radical changes in global food systems.

Cattle ranching is the largest cause of forest clearance in the Amazon rainforest, followed by the large-scale farming of soybeans, which is mostly used for livestock feed. Scientists have warned that up to 50% of the Amazon forest could hit a critical threshold by 2050 due to drought, deforestation, and climate change.

Increasing Concern Over Industry Access

These revelations come amid rising anger at the free rein given to corporations that benefit from the world’s reliance on oil and gas and deforestation, essential for reducing climate catastrophe.

The industrialised food sector has welcomed the lack of action at recent climate summits, which failed to recommend mandatory goals for cutting greenhouse gases, energy consumption, or meat consumption. A 2020 study showed that even if fossil fuels were immediately eliminated, business as usual in the agriculture industry would likely make it impossible to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius—or even the 2°C goal.

Representation by Sector

• Livestock sector sent the largest number, totaling seventy-two of the over 300 representatives. That’s nearly twice the number of representatives of Jamaica, the Caribbean country hit hard by Hurricane Melissa.
• Agrochemicals represent 60 delegates, while biofuels have thirty-eight delegates—a 138% jump from the previous summit.
• The agrochemical company Bayer sent 19 lobbyists, the most from any single company, while Nestlé has nine.

Emissions and Influence

According to a new study from an environmental organization, the greenhouse gas output of the 45 largest meat and dairy companies are comparable to those of the oil-rich nation, the world’s largest oil producer. The meat company JBS, which is responsible for a quarter of their emissions, has eight representatives at COP30, including its CEO.

Most synthetic fertilisers are derived from petroleum products and emit a potent greenhouse gas—that is far more potent than carbon dioxide. Farming is the largest driver of nitrous oxide emissions.

“This evidence shows that big agribusiness has hijacked the climate talks. The COP process cannot achieve meaningful climate progress if corporate lobbyists continue to sway policymakers and delegates,” said an advocate of the a climate justice network.

Key Topics and Brazil’s Push

Agriculture is not central to the current talks, but the industry stands to benefit from multiple key topics on the table, including policies on biofuels—many of which produced from agricultural commodities like grains and soybeans that contribute to forest loss.

The Brazilian government is advocating a four-fold increase in biofuel use, often promoted as a clean energy—but a recent study found they can generate 16% more emissions than conventional fuels due to land use impacts of monoculture farming.

Funding and Subsidies

Another critical issue is climate funding, which the world’s largest agricultural polluters, already major recipients of public subsidies, are angling to obtain significant portions of.

“What’s happening in Belém is not a climate conference but a hostage negotiation over the future of the planet where those holding the detonators – the soy barons, the beef cartels, the pesticide peddlers – are seated at the table as honest brokers,” said Raj Patel, who wrote on food systems. “These industry representatives are buying influence and credibility via compliant politicians as the climate crisis worsens,” he added.

Background and Methodology

The analysis is based on the UNFCCC’s provisional list of 56,000 COP30 delegates, and covers representatives from the largest corporations in livestock, pesticides and fertiliser, food processors, commodity and seed traders, supermarkets, and biofuels. The data also include global and regional trade groups, and farm organizations linked to agribusiness and/or a history of lobbying aligned with corporate interests.

Ongoing Influence

The Brazilian National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock, the primary industry representative in Congress, has supported several controversial environmentally damaging policies, including a bill that restricts land access for Indigenous communities, and attempted to overturn the soybean deforestation ban, a landmark voluntary agreement to halt trade of deforestation-linked soy.

The Meat Institute, which speaks for 350 meat packing and processing companies that account for 95% of the meat and poultry in the United States, has two delegates. This organization has strongly opposed government rules including attempts to require US companies to report their total greenhouse gases, and against changes to nutrition advice around reducing red meat consumption.

Historical Context

Across the United States, agribusiness corporations and industry associations spent more than $500 million lobbying Congress between the past five years for favourable legislation. It’s unsurprising, then, to see big ag at COP30, as noted by Karen Perry Stillerman, deputy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“Campaigners are demanding that fossil fuel interests and their misleading claims be excluded from upcoming climate conferences, and big agriculture’s sway is just as harmful … global food systems cannot become sustainable, equitable, or climate-ready if massive agribusiness firms control policymaking.”

Big ag’s presence is 71 percent higher than the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, but lower than the record high at the Dubai conference, which was the largest ever UN summit with 86 thousand attendees, compared with 56,000 registered in Brazil.

Company Responses

A spokesperson for Bayer said, “We have been transparent on our COP engagements … we firmly support actions to avert the climate crisis. The process needs all hands on deck.”

An official from the meat company commented, “As a food producer, JBS focuses on improving agricultural yields, making food systems more efficient, and cutting down on food waste.”

Several other industry groups offered no comment to inquiries. The Brazilian COP30 presidency and UNFCCC also did not respond.