UN climate talks face growing backlash over corporate influence and stalled action

More than 200 civil society and Indigenous groups have issued a unified call for major reforms to the United Nations’ global climate negotiations, criticizing decades of slow progress and lack of accountability.

Ryan Krugman reports for Inside Climate News.

In short:

• The coalition’s statement, released during preparatory talks for COP30 in Germany, urges changes to decision-making processes, increased accountability, and the exclusion of fossil fuel interests from negotiations.
• Their demands follow long-standing frustrations with the Conference of Parties structure, including COP29’s failure to secure meaningful climate finance commitments and its hosting by oil-producing Azerbaijan.
• Reform proposals include ending consensus-based voting, enforcing human rights protections, and aligning climate efforts with broader environmental treaties like those on plastics and fossil fuels.

Key quote:

“Global climate governance is increasingly perceived as out of touch, driven by vested interests, and running out of relevance and trust.”

— Civil society coalition statement

Why this matters:

International climate negotiations are meant to unite countries in slowing global warming, but critics say the process is being derailed by fossil fuel interests, political gridlock, and broken promises. As the planet warms, developing nations are bearing the brunt of climate impacts — facing floods, droughts, and extreme heat — yet they often lack the funding and political leverage to adapt. COP summits, originally created to drive global action, have instead become arenas where wealthy countries delay progress and corporations influence outcomes. The result is growing distrust, especially from communities most vulnerable to climate change. Without a credible, transparent process that delivers real commitments, public confidence in climate diplomacy — and its ability to protect health and ecosystems — continues to erode.

Learn more: Fossil fuel lobbyists dominate COP29 as activists push back