Closed to citizens, open to lobbyists : ‘Lobby Planet Paris’ guide exposes “Corporate COP21”

A new guide to lobbying and greenwashing around the UN climate talks is released today. ‘Lobby Planet Paris – a guide to corporate COP21‘ highlights the corporate influence over the UN talks just before they begin.

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, many civil society events and demonstrations that had been planned for the UN Climate Conference have been cancelled or reduced in scale, making it even harder than before for citizens and social movements to make themselves heard. At the same time, the lobbying and greenwashing of climate criminals and corporate profiteers continues unaffected, and is stronger than ever.

From fossil fuels to finance or industrial agriculture, ‘Lobby Planet Paris” maps the big corporations, lobby groups and trade associations that are trying hard to capture the climate talks and maintain business as usual, with the help of many governments and international institutions.

Over the years, big business has gained considerable influence over the global climate discussion. This year’s summit promises to be a new climax, with dirty energy champions such as Engie and EDF sponsoring the climate conference, corporations featuring prominently in the “solutions agenda” that could be appended to the future global agreement, countless corporate-expos such as Solutions COP21 and “Galerie des solutions” at Le Bourget.

“While there’s little prospect of the deal that’s being cooked up in Paris delivering anything for the climate, it could still be an important turning point in terms of de-legitimising the dangerous and destructive role that corporate climate criminals are currently playing in climate policy-making”,  says Pascoe Sabido of Corporate Europe Observatory.

“Behind all the hype, big business’ “solutions” for the climate remain basically the same: prevent any meaningful global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, avoid any form of public scrutiny and regulation by pushing failed market-based mechanisms such as a ‘global carbon price’, and promoting various for-profit schemes and hazardous techno-fixes,” says Amélie Canonne of Aitec

‘Lobby Planet Paris’ is a joint publication of Aitec, Attac France, Corporate Europe Observatory, Observatoire des multinationales and Transnational Institute, available both in French and English.

From La Défense to Champs-Élysées and Le Bourget, it guides readers into the main lobbying hotspots of the French capital. It also comes with information on the Conference’s official corporate sponsors and key business events that will take place in Paris during the COP, and why they only divert attention from the real solutions.

Lobby Planet Paris: http://corporateeurope.org/environment/2015/11/lobby-planet-paris-guide-corporate-cop21