Fossil fuel delegates at Climate ConferenceMore than 600 delegates affiliated with the fossil fuel industry are attending this years climate talks in Egypt. The attendance at COP27 marks a 25 percent increase from last years summit in Glasgow, Scotland, where the fossil fuel industry already counted more delegates than any single nation. The path to averting climate catastrophe isnt through negotiations flooded with industry lobbyists, said the director of the African Climate Campaign at the United States non-profit Corporate Accountability. Africa has seen nations from the continent argue they should be allowed to develop fossil fuel resources to help lift their people out of poverty. Namibias petroleum commissioner said representatives from many oil and gas companies were attending the summit precisely because Africa wants to send a message that we are going to develop all of our energy resources for the benefit of our people. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), however, has issued stark warnings against developing any new fossil fuel infrastructure in order to limit warming to 2C or 1.5C and avoid catastrophic effects, including more frequent wildfires, longer periods of drought and devastating floods. Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni and Repsol have reportedly made $79.4 billion in profits so far this year. These eye-watering profits have only been possible thanks to oil and gas companies enjoying strong prices since the invasion of the Ukraine. A number of countries did not charge a windfall tax a one-off levy on profits that result from a sudden gain to a particular company or industry which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for in order to help countries harmed by the climate crisis. ( I believe Canada has opted out of a windfall tax and has included oil company representatives with it's delegation. The poorer oil rich African countries are between a rock and a hard place.)