Record Number of Delegates at 2023 Climate Talks

The number of delegates at this year’s United Nations (UN) climate talks who are also linked to fossil fuel producers has quadrupled since last year.

Around 2,400 people connected to the coal, oil, and gas industries have been registered for the COP28 climate talks.

This record number is more than the total attendees from the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change.

The jump is partly due to registration changes with attendees now required to be open about their employment.

COP28 is the biggest climate conference ever held with some 97,000 politicians, diplomats, journalists, and campaigners registered for the meeting.

At COP26, in Glasgow, there were some 500 delegates with fossil fuel backgrounds.

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Last year at COP27 in Egypt, the numbers had swollen by a quarter, with more than 600 representatives there.

But this year more than four times that number have registered for COP28.

A statement signed by President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, read, It is important to state here that delegates from all countries, whether from government, private sector, media, and civil society groups, attend COP summits and conferences as parties and the number of attendees is registered against their countries of origin.

This does not mean they are sponsored or funded by the government,

While noting that the large contingent from Nigeria was not solely government-funded, Ajayi said, It is important to state here that delegates from all countries whether from government, private sector, media, and civil society groups attend COP summits and conferences as parties and the number of attendees is registered against their countries of origin.

This does not mean that they are sponsored or funded by the government. It must be said also that the fact that people registered to attend a conference does not mean everyone who registered is physically present.

As the biggest country in Africa, the biggest economy, and one with a bigger stake in climate action as a country with a huge extractive economy, it is a no-brainer that delegates from Nigeria will be more than any other country in Africa.