Fossil fuel interests are swarming this year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference, possibly like never before, according to research released Tuesday by a coalition of advocacy groups.

More than 2,400 people with ties to companies that produce or consume oil, natural gas, and coal — or from trade groups that advocate for those industries — are registered to attend COP28 in Dubai, according to the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition, which reviewed public registrations. That outnumbered nearly all the national and civil society delegations on hand to negotiate at the world’s biggest climate summit, according to the group.

The fossil fuel representation is rising even faster than overall attendance, which has also surged this year as global temperatures hit records and more companies, financiers, world leaders and activists see rising stakes at the event. Compared with last year’s summit in Egypt, four times the number of people with fossil fuel ties are […]