More than 100 major polluter corporations and industry associations are represented at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, according to a civil society analysis.
Delegates linked to these groups outnumber those from several climate-vulnerable nations, including Nepal, Niger and the Philippines.
Representatives from 30 major banks attended the summit; together, these banks provided more than $2.2 trillion in fossil fuel financing between 2021 and 2025.
Campaigners warn that organisations with records of opposing stronger climate policies could undermine negotiations, while an oil industry representative defends their participation.
A separate Transparency International analysis found that 19% of participants on national delegations had not disclosed their relationship with those delegations.
More than 100 corporations and industry associations linked to major polluting sectors have representatives at the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP 31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Antalya, Türkiye, raising concerns about their potential influence over negotiations, according to two analyses released on November 13, 2026.
The reports, published by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition and Transparency International, raise questions about industry access to climate negotiations and the transparency of national delegations.
The KBPO analysis also found that banks represented at the summit had collectively provided more than $2.2 trillion in fossil fuel financing between 2021 and 2025.
Civil society groups argue that companies with records of opposing climate policies should not be given disproportionate access to negotiations intended to address the climate crisis.
Big Polluters have caused loss of livelihood, emotional damage, trauma, and survival challenges for our people. We cannot tolerate the disproportionate space given to them compared to civil society and our country delegationsPrakash Dalal of Pro Public/Friends of the Earth Nepal
However, a representative of a major international oil company, speaking on condition of anonymity, rejected suggestions of interference. The representative said the industry's participation was intended to encourage engagement and help develop effective, practical alternatives through an inclusive process.
The KBPO coalition analysed COP31's provisional participant list and identified more than 100 corporations and industry associations from fossil fuels, finance, industrial agriculture, food production and technology.
These included 60 fossil fuel industry groups, 16 major fossil fuel financiers, six industrial agriculture and food groups, three major technology groups and 20 cross-sector associations.
According to the analysis, 222 delegates associated with these groups were registered through additional national delegation badges, while 203 attended through non-governmental organisations.
Another 45 were guests of host country Türkiye, and 31 were included in countries' official negotiating delegations.
The coalition also identified representatives from 30 of the world's 100 largest banks financing fossil fuels. Together, these banks provided more than $2.2 trillion in fossil fuel financing between 2021 and 2025, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the global total recorded in the Banking on Climate Chaos database.
The report cited InfluenceMap lobbying assessments to argue that the organisations identified had records of opposing or obstructing stronger climate policies.
It warned that their participation could undermine efforts to secure ambitious outcomes at COP31, although attendance alone does not establish that an organisation has influenced negotiations.
The coalition said representatives of major polluters with records of opposing climate action outnumbered delegations from several countries particularly vulnerable to climate change.
According to its analysis, these representatives outnumbered delegates from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines by 100 to one, Niger by 25 to one, the Philippines by eight to one and Nepal by six to one.
“Allowing polluters to influence COP31 gives them legitimacy to continue with business as usual and breaches Global South communities' trust in the COP31 process,” said Rachitaa Gupta of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice.
The coalition called for stronger safeguards against potential conflicts of interest in the UNFCCC process.
A separate analysis by Transparency International found that 19 per cent of participants attending COP31 as part of national delegations had not disclosed their relationship with the delegations they represented.
The organisation said this showed little improvement in transparency compared with the previous year's summit.
“One in five people on national delegations at COP31 would not tell us how they are connected to the delegation they are attending with,” said Brice Böhmer, Transparency International's climate governance expert.
“If you hold a government badge at a climate summit, you are in the room with access and influence. The public should be able to see who is behind each badge.”