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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 18, 2025
Contacts: reachout@kickbigpollutersout.org
**Photos from activist action on the ground in Belém here. Photo credit to Bianka Csenki, Artivist Network**

More than 300 Big Ag lobbyists at COP30 climate talks

BRAZIL 18 November, 2025: Today, DeSmog released an analysis of the UNFCCC COP30 participant data list of attendees that reveals that more than 302 industrial agriculture (Big Ag) lobbyists representing the world’s largest food and farming companies were given access to the COP30 climate talks in Belém, Brazil.

The DeSmog analysis toplines include:

  • Overall, 302 industrial food and farming (Big Ag) delegates have accessed the UN talks this year. The figures show a 14 percent rise from COP29, and a 71 percent increase compared to COP27. Climate COPs continue to be a top priority for businesses working in agriculture, a sector that accounts for up to one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
  • This year, one in four Big Ag lobbyists (25%) traveled to the summit on country badges including a subset (6) on official party badges which lends privileged access to diplomatic negotiations. Food sector lobbyists traveled to Belém as part of the country delegations of Brazil, Australia, Indonesia and Norway, among others. 
  • Agribusiness companies attending in country delegations included Brazil’s three largest meat companies, JBS, MBRF and Minerva, which have a combined emissions footprint similar to British multinational oil major BP. Together these corporations brought 13 delegates to COP30.
  • Europe’s largest fertilizer corporation Yara brought five delegates with its home country Norway. The synthetic fertilizer industry is a major user of fossil fuels which are typically required in the production of nitrogen-based fertilizer, which is a key driver of rising agricultural emissions.
  • Pesticide corporation Bayer brought a record 19 delegates to the COP. Brazil is the second largest market for Bayer’s pesticides, and the firm hosted invite-only events at venues such as “Casa de Bayer.”
  • Animal agriculture (meat and dairy and feed corporations) sent 77 delegates to the summit this year, a 33 percent increase on COP29. This delegation is equivalent to a delegation the size of Mexico or Switzerland; And nearly double the number of delegates (38) who came from the Caribbean island of Jamaica, which in October was devastated by Hurricane Melissa. 
  • Others attending in high numbers include dairy firm Danone, the world’s fourth largest dairy corporation (10 delegates), Nestlé (9 delegates), JBS (8) – including its CEO, Gilberto Tomazoni. Other large multinationals included commodities giant Cargill, which brought 5 delegates, while the food and beverages firm Pepsico (7) and fast food chain MacDonalds (2) were also in attendance.

Additional findings are below.

“The problem is that the agribusiness lobby is blatant at COP now,” said Adilson Vieira of Amazonian Work Group (GTA). “Just look at how Bayer has a field set up next to the Ministry of Agriculture, very close to the Blue Zone, which is incredibly brazen. We can see why things aren't moving forward while these multinationals are doing business. They are doing everything with the government's protection, so nothing will ever change. Things aren't moving forward because they're being covered up by the millionaire business that these companies are doing in broad daylight. They don't hide it anymore. They are shameful, and that's why progress is stalled.” 

This year’s uptick in attendance in Brazil shows the industry continues to see attendance at COP as an important priority, as they face scrutiny over ever-rising agricultural emissions. At 302, the number of lobbyists attending is larger than the delegation of Canada, the world’s 10th largest economy, which brought 220 delegates to the summit in Belém. Large producer countries and companies have in the past used COPs to weaken agreed texts in negotiations, and argue against solutions climate scientists say are needed to reach Paris goals. 

While many industrial agriculture giants argue they are providing the solution to climate change, scientists say many of the arguments they use are misleading. JBS is among a number of major food companies which are facing lawsuits over misrepresenting their environmental claims.

Scientists say it will be impossible to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement without major changes to the way we produce and consume food. A 2020 scientific paper found that even with reductions in fossil fuel use, the growth of current food systems alone would put the 1.5C goal, and likely the higher 2C goal out of sight. 

Animal agriculture’s principal contribution to emissions comes from the vast quantities of methane produced by livestock. The livestock sector is responsible for 32 percent of global methane emissions, making it the largest methane-producing sector ahead of oil and gas.

DeSmog’s UK Editor Hazel Healy said: “Our research shows that Big Agriculture lobbyists are pushing back against regulation – prepared to invest time, money and resources to repeat the line at the UN climate talks that their sector is the solution to climate change. Along with the 1,600 fossil fuel lobbyists who accessed the talks this year, our reporting raises serious questions about the influence of powerful vested interests on the COP process.”

DeSmog’s analysis follows the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition’s research that revealed at least 1,600 fossil fuel lobbyists registered for COP30, and data released by Center for International Environmental Law that revealed that there are at least 530 lobbyists advocating for carbon capture technologies. All told, these analyses underscore the need for a reset of the system so that it works for people and the planet, not Big Polluters like the fossil fuel industry and Big Ag, as well as an end to the ability of corporations to write the rules of climate action and bankroll the climate talks. 

“Allowing Bayer and other pesticide lobbyists to have a platform at COP30 risks skewing the negotiations toward interests connected to some of agriculture’s most carbon-intensive inputs, said Arnold Padilla of Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific.“The agrochemical industry relies on fossil–fuel–based chemicals, resulting in substantial emissions throughout its supply chain. Coupled with the role of pesticides in harming soil biodiversity and weakening soils' ability to store carbon, the link to the climate crisis becomes undeniable. Climate policy cannot be dictated by industries whose business models depend on practices that accelerate emissions and damage ecological resilience.” 

 

More quotes from Kick Big Polluters Out partners:

“COP30 is being overrun by the architects of hunger and ecological collapse. Big Ag’s GMO seeds spread genetic pollution that contaminates our native seeds, undermines our food sovereignty, and tightens corporate control over our lives. Their chemical packages that come with it degrade our soils, intensify flooding, and trap farmers in debt. These are deliberate strategies built to extract profit from our hunger. And now these corporations enter COP30 with state-sanctioned access, while small farmers, Indigenous peoples, and land defenders are pushed aside. Real climate solutions emerge from farmer-led seed banks, agroecological fields, and the collective struggle for land and life. These are the spaces where resistance grows and food futures are reclaimed. Thus, until Big Ag and Big Polluters are kicked out, no negotiation can claim legitimacy.  The future of food and climate will not be dictated by corporations, it will be reclaimed by the people.
Eliseo Ruzol Jr., Farmer-Scientist Partnership for Development (MASIPAG)

“As long as fossil fuel lobbyists and agribusiness lobbyists are allowed to influence negotiations, COP cannot deliver climate justice. If COP30 is to be a COP of truth, we must expose and eject these blockers of climate action. Now more than ever, we need an accountability mechanism that ends corporate capture and Kicks Big Polluters Out.”
Lidy Nacpil, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development

“Our food system is disgustingly wasteful when land that could be used to grow food for humans or to protect wildlife, is instead used to plant crops to feed factory farmed animals. JBS destroys one football field of tropical rainforest every single day, so why are we giving them the VIP treatment at COP30? Deforestation destruction fuelled by companies like JBS is not ‘feeding the world,’ it’s breaking the planet, and wildlife, farmed animals and communities are the collateral damage."
Elodie Guillon, World Animal Protection

“COP30 is becoming a playground for the very corporations driving climate and ecological collapse. With more than 1,600 fossil fuel lobbyists and over 300 Big Ag delegates granted open-door access, it’s no wonder Indigenous peoples and frontline communities are being sidelined. Those who protect the land are pushed out, while the industries destroying it walk in with country badges and VIP treatment. Fossil fuel and agribusiness giants are here to sell false ‘nature-based’ solutions and protect their profits — not to deliver climate justice. If we want real solutions, they must come from smallholder farmers, Indigenous peoples, and workers whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems. Food sovereignty, rooted in peasant agroecology and popular agrarian reform, is the only path that tackles the intersecting crises of inequality, climate breakdown, and biodiversity loss. Until we Kick Big Polluters Out, these talks will remain captured by corporate interests and the world will continue to pay the price.”
Tyrone Scott, War on Want

“Agribusiness is the number one driver of deforestation. You’d think that with COP30 being set in the Amazon and all the Brazilian talk of saving the forests, that this would be the time for a serious conversation that puts Big Ag in the climate spotlight. After all, you can’t end deforestation without talking about the causes of deforestation. But somehow the COP30 organisers have performed an almost impressive act of contortion, simultaneously talking a big forest game while studiously avoiding any discussion of agribusiness’s destructive role. With so many Big Ag lobbyists in the halls, this suddenly makes sense. Their outsize presence means that agribusiness remains the elephant in the room - or the elephant in the forest.”
Teresa Anderson, ActionAid International

“Bayer alone spends at least 50 million euro on lobbying per year globally, allowing them to deploy their old and tested lobbying strategies in every policy sphere. Public authorities, including at UN level, keep granting Big Polluters a seat at the table as a result. However, their deep pockets won’t ever buy them a decent reputation with the public. Be it in the US, in Africa or in Europe, Bayer and other pesticide firms have shown time and again to lobby against the interests of communities, undermining the carrying capacity of our planet.”
Nina Holland, Corporate Europe Observatory

“The sharp increase of Big Agro lobbyists at COP30 is staggering. It highlights how deeply the food industry is entrenching itself in climate negotiations. Companies like JBS, Bayer, Nestlé, and others are not here to cut emissions; they are here to protect profits, while their operations drive deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. The fact that a quarter of these lobbyists are part of country delegations shows how corporate influence is embedded into governments. This raises serious questions about whose interests are being prioritised at the climate talks. It is clear we need stronger rules in terms of an accountability framework to regulate conflicts of interest. COP should be about real climate solutions, not corporate self-interest.” 
Brice Böhmer,Transparency International

​​“Agrochemical corporations are a huge part of the crisis COP30 is meant to solve: their fossil-fuel-based fertilizers and pesticides drive massive emissions and lock the world into a system that is fundamentally incompatible with the Paris Agreement: The fossil economy. The growing presence of BigAg lobbyists at COP30—including within country delegations—creates a glaring conflict of interest that risks allowing the very actors fueling the climate breakdown to steer the agenda and delay the urgent transition to truly sustainable and just food systems. States must commit to phasing out fossil fuels, including agrochemicals, and reforming the climate talks to address this conflict of interest.”
Lisa Tostado, Center for International Environmental Law

"Les négociations sur le climat à la COP se doivent de définir des politiques climatiques claires en matière de responsabilisation, à l’abri de tout conflit d’intérêt. Les gros pollueurs ne devraient pas avoir accès à l’élaboration de ces politiques, leur participation contribue à influencer et saper la réponse internationale à apporter à cette problématique. La délégation française compte 449 personnes dont 22 proches du secteur de l’industrie fossile parmi lesquels 5 cadres de TotalEnergies dont Patrick Pouyanné, condamné il y a peu par la justice française pour « pratiques commerciales trompeuses » en ayant fait croire qu'elle pouvait atteindre la neutralité carbone en 2050 tout en augmentant la production de pétrole et de gaz. La participation de tels criminels climatiques doit être interdite!"
Youlie Yamamoto, Attac France

 

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Kick Big Polluters Out is a coalition of more than 450 organisations across the globe united in demanding an end to the ability of Big Polluters to write the rules of climate action. Find more on the coalition and its demands here.

Additional findings: 

  • Spotlight on Brazil
    A third of all the agriculture lobbyists this year are from Brazil, where agribusiness is responsible for 74 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions and about 97 percent of native vegetation loss between 2019 and 2024, mainly in the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado savannah. Brazil brought 26 agriculture lobbyists – the highest of any country – as part of its delegation, including 8 representatives from meat corporations, 4 from pesticide firms and 2 from bioenergy trade groups. The summit was also host to 30 delegates from Brazil’s most powerful agriculture lobby group, producers union the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), which has attempted to overturn the Amazon-preserving Soy Moratorium. 
  • Influential lobby groups also attended from the US, the world’s biggest meat producer. The Meat Institute, which pushes its industry as sustainable via its Protein Pact initiative, had two lobbyists in Belem, while 3 delegates attended under the umbrella of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, which helped fuel the backlash to the EAT-Lancet healthy diets report. 
  • Other trade groups attending included National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), National Farmers Union and Beef+Lamb New Zealand, which have all pushed for the UN’s IPCC to adopt a misleading metric accounting metric called GWP* that would allow the sector to claim to be ‘climate neutral’.
  • Dozens of additional lobbyists are also in attendance this year at the Agrizone, a pavilion close to the UN negotiation site, with a parallel events programme run by government agency Empraba, and co-sponsored by Bayer, Nestlé and Brazilian farm lobby the CNA.
  • Spotlight on biofuels
    The climate summit saw an influx of lobbyists from the bioenergy industry, which more than doubled compared to COP29. Trade groups such as the World Biogas Association (biogas=methane gas captured from sources such as manure or decomposing crop waste) sent more than double the delegates this year (a 138 percent increase). At least 18 delegates from Brazil’s soy and ethanol trade groups are at the UN summit. Brazilian vegetable oil industry group ABIOVE sent at least 11 delegates and said it would promote biofuels, liquid fuels such as ethanol, produced from corn or sugar cane, used as a gasoline additive, or biodiesel from soybean oil. Brazilian industry group UNICA, which represents sugarcane producers — the leading producers of biofuels in Brazil — sent 7 people in its delegation.

     

     

     

    The soy sector, alongside livestock, is one of the main drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado. Soy contributed to 10 percent of deforestation in South America over 20 years.

    COP host Brazil — which is a major biofuels producer — is pushing for a quadrupling of output of these fuels, despite criticism that intensive production uses vast large tracts of land for monoculture crops, which can lead to deforestation and biodiversity loss, as well as create competition with food crops. 

    Photo credit: Photo by Renaldo Matamoro on Unsplash

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