Did big oil companies use the COP summit in Brazil for their own agenda?
This year’s COP30 summit had more fossil fuel lobbyists in attendance than ever before, but a new study suggests Big Oil’s efforts to influence public opinion in Brazil started months before leaders gathered in the country.
The study by the Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition (CAAD) and the Climainfo Institute found the number of Big Oil ads in Brazil increased by 2,900% in the run-up to the COP30 summit. Researchers behind the study have called this an “unprecedented greenwashing campaign”.
Using data collected by the Centre for Climate Communication and Data Science (C3DS) at the University of Exeter, the researchers found that Big Oil companies were pouring money into Google ads targeting Brazil. These ads often promote the companies’ investments in green energy, which Renata Alberquerque Ribeiro from Climainfo says distracts from what the real data shows.
“They are committed to promoting their brands as sustainable and investing in the energy transition. When we look at the official data on their investments in energy and fossil fuels, we see that this is not true.”
Petrobras was responsible for 70% of the Big Oil ads in Brazil in 2025. The state-owned Brazilian oil company has been lauded by President Lula as key to Brazil’s green strategy. Its ads echo this message.
“The advertisements try to bring this sense of greatness, like there is something big happening around the energy transition, and Petrobras is the one that is leading,” says Ribeiro.
“But if you evaluate their new work plan, Petrobras reduced investment in the energy transition by 20%. They are decreasing investment in renewable energy and the energy transition, and increasing investment in fossil fuels.”
This week, President Lula has asked his ministers to present a roadmap for Brazil’s green transition within 60 days.
Though COP30 is over, Big Oil companies will still be looking to sway public opinion in their favour. With this new evidence of targeted campaigns by oil companies, should legislators be doing more to rein in their influence over public discussion?
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
