The Fossil Fuel Industry Was More Represented at the UN's Climate Summit Than Any Country

  • by: The Care2 Team
  • recipient: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change organizers
There is one entity at the UN's recent climate change summit -- dubbed COP26 -- that has taken this convention more seriously than any other. Powered with a full batch of representatives, this group has a larger delegation than any other country in the entire world.

Except this group itself isn't a country. It's the fossil fuel industry. And, again, it sent more spokespeople to negotiate for its interests than did the U.S., China, Russia, India, or any other huge powerhouse countries. Provisional delegate lists indicate that at least 503 negotiators at the event are tied to dirty energy.

Why? What the heck are they doing there? We all know what the fossil fuel corporations want. This is supposed to be a summit on preventing climate change -- so it's time to hear from someone else, besides coal and oil mouthpieces.

Sign the petition to demand industry-linked delegates be banned from future UN climate summits! Fossil fuel lobbyists have no place at a convention intended to save our future from the destructive ways of oil, gas, and coal.

Why did COP26 organizers allow fossil fuel-affiliated delegates to attend? They each are technically included in the negotiator groups sent by one country or another, which means these big-money sell-outs are also allowed to weigh in on important, world-saving issues and influence international agreements.

Not only do corporate interests get a seat at the table, but other people who should be included have been essentially locked out. COP26 organizers did not design the summit to be accessible to people with disabilities. The conference venue is not wheelchair accessible, and neither is its shuttle bus -- something that completely locked Israel's minister of energy, Karine Elharrar, as well as countless grassroots activists, out of the summit.

On top of that, the summit does not provide sign language interpreters at its main speaking events, leaving both deaf individuals and those with other hearing disabilities completely cut off.

Why should fossil fuel insiders get to determine the future of our planet, but people using wheelchairs or who are deaf cannot? This equation is totally reversed from how it ought to be.

The UN got its priorities all wrong when determining which guests to prioritize and elevate during its COP26 climate summit. Next time, it must commit to uplifting the voices of those who are marginalized, providing accessible venues, and blocking oil, gas, and coal delegates from attendance!
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