John,
I’m writing to you from COP30 in Belém, Brazil. It’s relentless work here – every day is packed with meetings, press conferences, and strategy sessions all focused on one goal: ensuring the voices of those most impacted are in the rooms where decisions about the future of our planet are being made.
But here’s the harsh reality: we’re walking into rooms packed with oil and gas lobbyists. Our partners at Kick Big Polluters Out estimate there are over 1,600 fossil fuel lobbyists at COP30.1 That means fossil fuel interests outnumber the official delegates from the Philippines – the nation that just experienced the devastating typhoon Fung-wong – by nearly 50-to-1.2
This is why 350's and our movement's presence here – alongside the global pressure you and others create online – is so important. Being in the room makes us impossible to ignore.
Despite being outnumbered, there is everything to play for, and we are making real progress.
In the 10 days since COP started, support for a roadmap to phase out coal, oil and gas has grown from just one country to at least 80. It's the first time this has ever happened at a COP, and even historically polluting countries like Germany and the UK support it.2
This breakthrough is a testament to the collaborative, relentless pressure from our entire movement – Indigenous Peoples, workers, and people on the frontlines, both online and in person. Your actions on social media and in your local communities set the stage. Our presence here is the critical final step that ensures our demands are delivered face-to-face.
But this presence comes at a significant cost. Resources are tight, and the financial barriers – like the high cost of accommodation – mean many activists and campaigners who should be here couldn’t afford to come. This only increases our responsibility to represent the movement. Can you chip in $5 to help us meet this commitment?
Support the COP30 team with $5
The science is clear: climate change caused by fossil fuels made the deadly typhoons Fung-Wong and Kalmaegi that devastated the Philippines and Vietnam more likely and more severe. This human cost of political inaction is what drives us every minute we are here.3
This isn't just a conference, it's our fight for a better future, and you are a vital part of it.
Anything you can give strengthens our presence as the critically needed counterweight to the fossil fuel lobby.
YES, I'll support the COP30 team
Thank you for standing with us and making it possible for climate campaigners like me to be here, even when the odds are stacked 50-to-1 against us.
In solidarity,
Andreas for 350.org from COP30 in Belém, Brazil
Sources
1 - Fossil fuel lobbyists flood COP30 climate talks in Brazil, with largest ever attendance share | Kick Big Polluters Out, November 14, 2025
2 - Momentum surges behind fossil fuel phase out roadmap as cop30 enters its second week - 350, November 17, 2025
3 - Largest-ever presence of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP30 revealed as study confirms Asia’s deadly typhoons made worse by climate change - 350, November 14, 2025
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