More than 300 industrial agriculture lobbyists participated this year in UN climate negotiations taking place in the Brazilian Amazon, where the industry is the main cause of deforestation, according to a new survey.
The number of lobbyists representing industrial livestock, grain and pesticide interests is up 14% from last year’s summit in Baku – and larger than the delegation from the world’s 10th largest economy, Canada, which brought together 220 delegates to Cop30 in Belém, according to the joint investigation by DeSmog and the Guardian.
A quarter of major agricultural lobbyists (77) attend Cop30 as part of an official country delegation, with a small subgroup (six) enjoying privileged access to UN negotiations where countries are expected to develop ambitious policies to curb global climate catastrophe.
Agriculture is responsible for a quarter to a third of global emissions and scientists say it will be impossible to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris agreement without radical changes to the way we produce and consume food.
Cattle ranching is the main driver of deforestation in the Amazon, followed by the industrial production of soybeans, mainly used for animal feed. Scientists warn that almost half of the Amazon rainforest could reach a tipping point by 2050 due to water stress, land clearing and climate change.
“More than 300 agro-industry lobbyists occupy the space at Cop30 that should belong to the peoples of the forest. While talking about energy transition, they pour oil into the Amazon 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 of the Alter do territory Chão.
These revelations come amid growing frustration with the unfettered access granted to companies that profit from the world’s continued reliance on fossil fuels and/or the destruction of forests and other vital ecosystems to mitigate climate catastrophe.
The industrialized food sector has celebrated inaction at recent climate summits, which failed to recommend binding targets for reducing emissions, fossil fuel use or meat consumption. A 2020 study found that even if fossil fuels were immediately phased out, the status quo in the food sector would likely make the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels – and even the 2°C target – out of reach.
Meat and dairy sent the largest number, accounting for 72 of the 302 total delegates. That’s almost double the number of negotiators on behalf of Jamaica, the Caribbean island nation devastated by Hurricane Melissa last month – a superstorm that scientists say was made more intense by man-made global warming. India, a country of 1.45 billion inhabitants facing major climate challenges, sent a delegation of 87 negotiators.
According to a recent analysis by Friends of the Earth USA, emissions from the 45 largest meat and dairy companies are equivalent to those of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer. JBS, the world’s largest meat company which alone accounts for a quarter (24%) of emissions, has eight lobbyists at Cop30, including its CEO, Gilberto Tomazoni.
Agrochemicals – pesticides and synthetic fertilizers – have 60 delegates, and biofuels 38 representatives, a jump of 138% since last year. Pesticide giant Bayer sent 19 lobbyists, the highest number, while Nestlé had nine.
Most synthetic fertilizers are derived from fossil fuels and emit nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO2, of which agriculture is the main culprit.
“These results are proof that industrial agriculture has been allowed to co-opt the climate convention. The police will never take real climate action as long as industry lobbyists are allowed to influence governments and negotiators,” said Lidy Nacpil of the Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development.
Food is not the focus of this year’s negotiations, but the sector stands to benefit from several key topics on the table, including decisions on biofuels, many of which are produced from agricultural products such as corn and soy, which drive deforestation.
Brazil is pushing to quadruple the use of biofuels, which are often marketed as green energy – but a recent study found they can generate 16% more emissions than fossil fuels due to the impact of growing monocultures on land use.
Another key element is climate finance, of which the world’s largest agricultural polluters, already the main beneficiaries of public subsidies, are positioning themselves to receive a significant share.
“What is happening in Belém is not a climate conference but a hostage negotiation on the future of the planet where those who hold the detonators – the soy barons, the beef cartels, the pesticide dealers – sit at the table as honest brokers,” said Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the Global Food System.
“These food lobbyists are buying access and legitimacy from politicians willing to take their checks while the planet burns,” added Patel, a research professor at the Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
The analysis is based on the UNFCCC provisional list of 56,000 delegates to Cop30 and includes representatives from the largest meat and dairy, pesticide and fertilizer companies, food processors, commodity and seed traders, grocery retailers and biofuels. The figures also include global and regional trade groups, as well as national farmer unions and institutes that are affiliated with companies and/or have a history of lobbying aligned with industry demands.
The Brazilian National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), the agribusiness sector’s main lobbying arm in Congress, has supported several controversial anti-environmental laws, including a bill that restricts demarcation and access to land for indigenous populations, and attempted to overturn the Amazon soy moratorium, a historic voluntary agreement aimed at blocking the sale of soy linked to deforestation.
The Meat Institute – which represents 350 meatpacking and processing companies that produce 95% of meat and poultry in the United States – has two delegates. The trade group has lobbied hard against regulations, including efforts to force U.S. companies to disclose the full extent of their emissions, and changes to dietary guidelines aimed at reducing red meat consumption.
In the United States, food companies and trade groups spent more than half a billion dollars lobbying Congress between 2019 and 2023 for favorable legislation. So it’s not surprising to see large agricultural companies at Cop30, according to Karen Perry Stillerman, deputy director of the food and environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Advocates are already calling for the fossil fuel industry and its misinformation to be banned from future climate talks, and the influence of big corporate agriculture is just as toxic…we will not have sustainable, equitable, healthy, or climate-resilient food systems anywhere in the world as long as agribusiness giants and food corporations make the rules.” »
Industrial agricultural participation is up 71% compared to Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, but down from the record Cop28 in Dubai, which was the largest summit ever organized by the UN with 86,000 delegates, compared to 56,000 recorded in Brazil.
A Bayer spokesperson said: “We have been transparent about our Cop commitments… we strongly support actions to avert the climate crisis. The process needs everyone’s participation.”
A JBS spokesperson said in a statement: “JBS, as a food company, is focused on increasing agricultural productivity, improving the efficiency of the food system and reducing food loss and waste. »
Nestlé, CNA and the Meat Institute did not respond to requests for comment. Brazil’s Cop30 presidency and the UNFCCC also did not respond to requests for comment.
