The fossil fuel industry is actively and aggressively lobbying national governments and funding international meetings in an effort to interfere with the development of climate policy. Delegates from industry groups are being given preferential access to delegates at key meetings.
In May the organization Corporate Accountability International made the announcement that EDF Energy and Suez Environnement will be lead sponsors at COP 21 in Paris, raising the concern that COP 21 may become a “Corporate COP.” EDF and ENGIE (partial owner of Suez Environnement) are operators of major coal operations in Europe and are engaged in fracking operations internationally.
Widely shared comments from Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, capture the concern of activists: “Why would you let the professional arsonist join the volunteer fire department?” With the Bonn meeting, the last major meeting before the COP 21 in Paris, the concerns regarding corporate interference in the process of developing essential policy to address climate impacts have been amplified.