How business can promote integrity in climate action following COP30

The private sector plays a key role in accelerating climate action. Nowhere is this felt more acutely than when the world gathers to drive forward the climate agenda at the COP summits. 

Taking place in Belém, Brazil, currently, the thirtieth summit is positioned as the ‘COP of Action’, emphasising the urgent need to implement existing climate agreements to limit global warming to the 1.5 °C threshold. 

While governments hold the power on legislation and regulation, climate initiatives can’t be delivered without business. The global finance and corporate sector contributed US$1 trillion in climate finance for the first time in 2023 and achieving the goals set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement is going to require trillions more in annual investment.

With this volume of money at stake, transparency and integrity commitments to ensure climate action isn’t undermined by corruption and fraud are crucial.

From bribes paid by renewable energy companies to secure solar energy contracts to fossil fuel companies exerting disproportionate and opaque influence on climate policy, Transparency International’s research identifies a wide range of cases where corruption negatively affects the success of climate mitigation and adaptation outside of climate financing. 

Our research highlights instances where business integrity failings have contributed to environmental harm and undermined the effectiveness of climate initiatives. Corruption and fraud leading to the misuse and diversion of funds in carbon offsetting and other carbon reduction schemes is one example; and the rise of “greenwashing”, where a company puts out misleading information on its environmental credentials and carbon credit claims, is another.

With opaque lobbying practices and undue influence[2] by fossil fuel companies around international COP negotiations weakening global efforts to tackle the climate crisis, here are three ways that companies can promote integrity in climate action. 

A study by Transparency International and InfluenceMap found that 88% of companies attending COP28 and COP29 had not expressed a clear position in support of the Paris Agreement since the beginning of 2024. This taken alongside the fact that 65% have shown no policy engagement on climate issues, raises the important question of how businesses are using COP spaces to promote their preferred policy solutions.

In the national context, our research on climate lobbying in Scotland found that a small group of fossil fuel and energy companies have privileged access to government ministers risking an outsized influence on policy development. 

To promote integrity when engaging in climate policy development, companies should commit to:

• Transparency: report publicly, comprehensively and accessibly on policy positions and political engagement activities, and declare conflicts of interest so these can be managed.
• Governance and accountability: ensure board oversight of the company’s political engagement strategy and activities and the effective management of conflicts of interest in lobbying. Don’t give gifts, donations, payments or sponsorships to influence policy makers.
• Alignment: align stated emissions reductions goals and climate commitments with lobbying activities, including through industry bodies. Businesses participating in climate summits such as COP30 should express their support for the Paris Agreement and other climate frameworks and reflect these commitments in their business activities.

Corruption has devastating consequences on the preservation of forests, which play an essential role in global climate storage. The setting of COP30 on the edge of the Amazon rainforest spotlights their critical role in removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The Amazon is a prime target for climate related corruption, but examples from Indonesia where bribes were reportedly paid to conduct illegal logging and mining in protected areas, or in Liberia's rainforests where a company seeking to rent land for a carbon-offset project faced allegations of bribery and other impropriety, including having no previous experience of carbon offsetting, demonstrate the global nature of the problem.

Businesses should conduct comprehensive due diligence if investing in or engaging with climate offset/market projects. A proactive understanding of beneficial ownership and corruption and fraud red flags, as well the potential impact they have on the environment and human rights, can ensure these projects are not contributing to illicit activities.

Transparency around the climate commitments businesses make and the impact they have is crucial to meeting COP goals as it enables consumers and investors to make informed decisions about the companies they engage with. 

Misleading or fraudulent marketing claims and sustainability disclosures means more scrutiny of public information and increased legal risk and reputational damage for companies. Ultimately companies should act with integrity when publishing climate-related information and claims. This means committing to transparency and ensuring information is accessible, credible and substantiated, and aligns across business commitments and activities.

The opening days of COP30 underscore that we are at a climate tipping-point. Businesses must rise to the challenge and consider the essential role they play in delivering effective climate action. This can only be achieved when integrity is at the forefront of business operations in high risk areas, and cooperation with other critical actors such as governments and NGOs is done in an open and transparent way.