The World Health Organization prohibits tobacco companies and lobbyists from attending its summits, yet the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) has no conflict of interest policy allowing organizers to ban bad-faith actors from registering as observers.

The climate action obstructionists at Cop28 include the American Petroleum Institute (API), the largest fossil fuel trade group which for years has blocked efforts to pass domestic legislation limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Internal documents suggest that the API, which is attending as an accredited observer delegation like Greenpeace and Amnesty International, has been misleading the public on climate change since the 1980s.