Those of us who are familiar with the workings of fossil fuel companies are well aware of their overwhelming power, coming from their accumulated wealth and tight grip on our world and politics. How else could they still be around after decades of clear evidence of their fatally destructive nature? We also know that we have no other choice but to find a way to match that power, it’s quite literally a life-or-death situation.
The good news is: they are few and we are many. Fossil Free Politics is a Europe-wide coalition working towards the common goal of loosening the suffocating grip of fossil fuels and returning power to the people. Here are some highlights of the network’s actions from 2025.
Lobbying Report from Austria
Our colleagues at Global2000 in Austria took a good look at who their representatives are meeting in Brussels. They analysed 1,338 lobby meetings of Austrian Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) between July 2024 and July 2025. The result: Austrian MEPs meet twice as often with stakeholders from economy and industry than with civil society and employee representatives combined. The report finds that the politicians dedicated the most time to the usual suspects, the fossil fuels, automotive, forestry and agricultural lobbyists. Now Global2000 is calling for full transparency of MEPs and in Austria and a much more balanced decision making that prioritises people over profits.
Mapping mining in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Center for Environment has drawn Bosnia and Herzegovina’s attention to mining. They have organised and participated in a public conference on the social and environmental impacts of the expanding coal and critical raw material mining in the country. Together with their allies, they created a public map of mining sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina which illustrated the scale and risks of extractive activities across the country. The event and the map were widely shared by the media, successfully raising awareness of the impacts of fossil fuel extraction.
Politicians uncovered in Czechia
Re-set published their investigative report: Shades of Brown: How Czech Politicians Advance the Fossil Lobby’s Interests and What We Can Do About It. The report uncovered the close ties between the fossil fuel industry and three high-profile Czech political figures: MEP Tomáš Zdechovský, former Minister of Industry Karel Havlíček, and current Minister of the Environment Tomáš Macinka from the pro-Motorists party (AUTO). It also gives a thorough overview of the less obvious mechanism through which the fossil fuel industry shapes policy outcomes, as well as possible regulatory measures to limit this influence. Give it a read!
Energy cartels of Spain
Our Catalan allies, Enginyeria Sense Fronteres, uncovered another corporate takeover of energy policy. Their report analyses how the control of the Spanish energy system is concentrated in the hands of five large corporations – Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy, Repsol and Move – and how they deploy lobbying strategies to influence legislation, condition the action of governments and drive the social narrative on the energy transition. Far from being a neutral actor, the fossil oligopoly is revealed as a structural power that acts in a constant and organized way to protect its interests. They followed up their investigative work with advocacy meetings and their own pledge for politicians to stay away from fossil fuel companies.
De-fossilizing COP30 by France
French colleagues at Observatoire des Multinationales worked hard to document the unholy matrimony between the French government and fossil fuel interests and to keep COP30 fossil free. Or, at least, to change the notorious behaviour of the French government bringing fossil fuel lobbyists, including the CEO of TotalEnergies, to the climate negotiations year after year. They joined forces with other French civil society organisations to put pressure on the government. They also published a series of investigative articles on the close collaboration between the authorities and fossil fuel corporations giving special attention to the ties between TotalEnergies and the French government.
Mass mobilisation to end fossil fuel power in Ireland
Friends of the Earth Ireland (FoE) called upon civil society to match fossil fuel power with the power of community. As part of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, FoE took a leading role in the preparation, planning and delivery of a landmark national demonstration that coincided with COP30. The demonstration was attended by 4000 – 5000 people and more than 30 NGOs. They also organised a ‘mass lobby’ of Politicians with their partners. The unusual gathering in Dublin was attended by 46 politicians across all the main parties and almost 100 constituents. The meeting allowed citizens to talk to their local politicians directly regarding the importance of fossil fuel phase out and helped to demonstrate that faster and fairer climate action continues to receive broad public support. FoE also did a tremendous job in standing up against industry influence with an e-action on data centres, and with criticising the government for failing to deliver on its climate commitments.
Keeping lobbyists away from COP in Poland
The goal of EKO-UNIA Association in Poland was to keep fossil fuel lobbyists out of their national politics and COP. They adapted the FFP proposals to their national context, calling for limitations to be placed on the influence of fossil fuel lobbying on government decisions, and the exclusion of fossil fuel lobbyists from the Polish COP30 delegation. Thanks to an overwhelming support from civil society and the academic community no fossil fuel lobbyists were brought to COP with the Polish delegation.
Carbon capture and corporate capture in the UK
Fossil Free Parliament in the UK took a special interest fossil fuel lobbying around the science fiction-esque Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, especially after their government invested £22 billion in it. With their campaign they turned to the general public, and in collaboration with a content creator, they published a series of infotainment videos to uncover the relationship between fossil fuel lobbying and CCS in a digestible and memorable way. Watch the videos here, here and here. They are also conducting an ongoing investigation into the role of CCS in the UK’s climate strategy.