COP30: Report Flags Presence of 300 High-Emission Agriculture Lobbyists at Summit

More than 300 industrial agriculture lobbyists are attending the ongoing UN climate summit in Brazil’s Amazon, even though the sector remains the leading driver of global deforestation.

A joint investigation by DeSmog and The Guardian found that representatives of industrial cattle farming, commodity grain producers and pesticide companies at COP30 in Belém have increased by 14% compared to last year’s talks in Baku. Their presence even exceeds that of Canada’s official delegation, which comprises 220 members despite Canada being the world’s 10th-largest economy.

Notably, one in four of these agribusiness lobbyists are part of official country delegations, granting several of them privileged access to negotiations on climate policy.

Scientists warn that the agriculture sector — responsible for 25–33% of global emissions — must undergo rapid transformation in both production and consumption patterns to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Vandria Borari of the Borari Kuximawara Indigenous Association criticised the industry’s dominant presence, saying:
“More than 300 agribusiness lobbyists occupy the space at COP30 that should belong to 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.”

These revelations have intensified long-standing concerns over the influence of corporations that profit from fossil fuels and ecosystem destruction. According to The Guardian, the industrial food sector has repeatedly welcomed the lack of binding targets at recent climate summits, with no mandatory limits placed on emissions, fossil fuel use, or global meat consumption.

A 2020 study warned that even if fossil fuels were phased out entirely, emissions from the food system alone could push global heating beyond 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.

Another analysis, cited by The Guardian, from Friends of the Earth US, found that emissions from the world’s 45 largest meat and dairy companies are comparable to those of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer. JBS, the biggest meat company globally — responsible for 24% of these emissions — has eight lobbyists at COP30, including CEO Gilberto Tomazoni.

Lidy Nacpil of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development said the findings show how deeply industrial agriculture has embedded itself in the climate negotiation process:
“COP will never deliver real climate action as long as industry lobbyists are allowed to influence governments and negotiators.”