BAKU: Oil executives and lobbyists descended on COP29 in Baku for “energy day” Friday, as environmental groups denounced the presence of the fossil fuel industry at the UN climate talks. While negotiators haggled over the key goal of an increase in climate funding, a former UN chief denounced the talks as “no longer fit for purpose”.

The head of France’s TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, told AFP the sector is “part of the problem”, but insisted it was making “continuous progress” on transition.

The “Kick the Big Polluters Out” (KBPO) coalition of NGOs analysed accreditations at the annual climate confab, calculating that more than 1,700 people linked to fossil fuel interests are in attendance.

“The fossil fuel industry is creating havoc in people’s lives, the fossil fuel industry is responsible for destruction,” said Makoma Lekalakala, a South African environmental campaigner.

The presence of oil, gas and coal interests at the climate talks has long been a source of controversy, and the appointment of UAE state oil firm head Sultan Al Jaber to head last year’s negotiations in Dubai stoked criticism.

This year’s host is energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday repeated his insistence that oil and gas are a “gift of God”.