This press release was originally published by Corporate Europe Observatory
Brussels, 7 November 2024 – Wopke Hoekstra failed to reassure that he would keep oil and gas lobbyists away from climate policy when he answered questions in the European Parliament, seeking its approval to reprise his role as EU Commissioner for climate. The hearing comes just days before Commissioner Hoekstra is due to represent the EU at the COP29 UN climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan.
At last year’s climate talks, COP28, the EU and its national governments brought more than 130 fossil fuel lobbyists on their delegations. Hoekstra’s own team brought in senior executives from Eni and BP, as well as ExxonMobil’s chief lobbyist in Brussels. When asked in the Parliament if he would exclude fossil fuel lobbyists from the EU’s delegation to this year’s climate talks, Hoekstra refused, saying the fossil fuel companies are not there to lobby, but rather to speak at EU-organised side events.
This echoes his response last year to a Parliament complaint about oil and gas lobbyists’ presence in the EU’s delegation to COP28 when Hoekstra said they were there to speak on panels at the talks, which appears to not be true in two cases.
However, inviting fossil fuel delegates to speak during the talks gives them ample lobbying opportunities: both at the events, speaking alongside senior EU officials, but also by accessing government-only areas thanks to being on a government delegation. Fossil Free Politics has questioned why the European Commission is inviting fossil fuel lobbyists to speak in the first place.
Fossil Free Politics coordinator Nathan Stewart said: “Fossil fuel companies and their lobbyists must be kept as far away from climate and energy policy as tobacco is from health policy – Commissioner Hoekstra should be firm on this issue but so far we’re not convinced. It’s blatantly clear that oil and gas lobbyists’ only interest in climate policy is to deny, delay, shift blame and keep maximising their profits at the expense of ordinary people who pay rocketing energy bills and suffer in the climate crisis.”
Contacts:
Pascoe Sabido, Corporate Europe Observatory
pascoe@corporateeurope.org – 0044 7969 665 189
***
Fossil Free Politics is a Europe-wide coalition of anti-poverty groups, trades unions and climate organisations which campaigns for a firewall between the fossil fuel industry and climate policy including ending lobby meetings with the fossil fuel industry and excluding them from participation in public institutions’ expert and advisory bodies. It is coordinated by Corporate Europe Observatory, Food and Water Action Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe and Greenpeace EU.
EU Transparency Register: 461250348032-23