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New report: Fossil fuel lobbyists flood Canberra

Comms Declare

MEDIA RELEASE - 25 September 2025

Fossil fuel lobbyists flood Canberra as agencies and media exposed in 2025 F-List

Comms Declare and Clean Creatives today released the F-List 2025, exposing the scale of fossil fuel influence in Australia’s advertising, PR, lobbying and media sectors.

The report identifies 156 fossil fuel contracts across Australia in 2024-25, spanning advertising, PR and lobbying. Of these, 102 were lobbying contracts, including 57 registered to operate in Federal Parliament. In practice, this means up to 105 individual lobbyists - nearly a quarter of all 468 federally registered lobbyists -  were working for fossil fuel clients.

Founder of Comms Declare, Belinda Noble, said the findings help explain why strong climate action is repeatedly delayed, “Even the shocking number of lobbying contracts underplays the influence of fossil fuels in Federal Parliament. There are up to 105 individuals working on those contracts, representing nearly a quarter of the 468 registered lobbyists.

This is democracy for hire. Fossil fuel lobbyists outnumber voices for the planet, while agencies and media help spin delay instead of action.”

By the numbers

  • 156 fossil fuel contracts across Australia in 2024-25, spanning advertising, PR and lobbying

  • 102 of these were lobbying contracts, including 57 registered to operate in Federal Parliament

  • These 57 federal contracts cover up to 105 individual lobbyists, nearly a quarter of all 468 lobbyists on the federal register

  • 17 contracts with Omnicom agencies, the most of any global holding company

  • 10 contracts with Omnicom’s GRACosway, the top agency for the third year running

  • Six (6) contracts each with AGL and Alinta, the brands with the highest fossil fuel spend

  • Four (4) contracts with News Corp, the most of any media company, with SBS also listed for the first time

 

Japanese energy giant JERA, one of the world’s largest LNG buyers, contracted four federal lobbying firms plus an additional Western Australia firm during 2024-25. JERA actively lobbied against pollution restrictions while buying gas from Woodside’s North West Shelf, a project recently extended with federal and WA government approval.

 

Woodside itself was represented by WPP’s Hawker Britton and The Brand Agency, while Omnicom’s IPG Mediabrands - which also holds millions in federal government advertising contracts - simultaneously worked for AGL, Jemena and Kleenheat.

 

Noble said the pattern is clear, “Coal, oil and gas are paying agencies to polish their image, not to cut their emissions. These contracts reveal an industry addicted to spin for hire.”

 

Further, the F-list report found News Corp produced a week-long series of pro-gas stories, including front-page spreads sponsored by Santos, Jemena, APA and Tamboran Resources.

 

SBS CulturalConnect and Identity Communications created television and social content for AGL, Australia’s largest greenhouse gas polluter.

 

Noble said agencies and media groups risk their credibility by continuing fossil fuel work, “This report shows we have agencies claiming climate credentials and working for brands pushing for climate action, while still cashing cheques from fossil fuels. It’s taking from both sides of the fence.

 

Businesses and brands pushing for climate action should be demanding greater transparency and working with agencies without fossil fuel exposure.” concluded Noble.

 

Duncan Meisel, Executive Director of Clean Creatives, said the international findings echo Australia’s context, “The 2025 F-List shows that the fossil fuel industry has doubled down on spin rather than trying to address the urgent issues of the climate emergency. Coal, oil, and gas companies have abandoned any pretense of being climate-friendly actors, and are now trying to browbeat the public and decision-makers into accepting a future of higher energy prices, and more extreme weather.

 

The ad and PR agencies assisting with this influence operation are putting their reputation and their employees’ futures at risk. We have the receipts that show how they’ve been a part of endangering the planet and their industry.”

 

Australian F-list agency and media data here: commsdeclare.org/f-list/

Australian lobbyist list with fossil fuel contracts here.

Global F-List report here: https://cleancreatives.org/f-list 

 

- ENDS -

 

Media enquiries: Claire Maloney | [email protected] | 0431 279 785

 

Available for interview: Belinda Noble - Founder, Comms Declare

 

Notes to editors

  • Holding companies are multinational groups such as WPP, Omnicom and Publicis that own multiple ad, PR and lobbying agencies

  • The F-List identifies contracts active at some point in 2024-25. Lobbyist register figures list all agency staff registered to a client, resulting in “up to” calculations for individual lobbyist numbers


About us:

About Comms Declare: Comms Declare promotes sustainable communications and is dedicated to shifting the narrative around climate action. We work to reduce the social licence of climate polluters and champion those integrating sustainability into their communications practice. At our core is the belief in the power of communications to create cultural change and shape a safer, healthier future for people and the planet. Comms Declare is a registered charity and a member of the Climate Action Network Australia (CANA).

 

About Clean Creatives: Clean Creatives is an award-winning campaign group calling for an advertising and PR industry-wide movement where creatives and companies pledge to refuse future work with fossil fuel corporations. To date, over 1,400 agencies worldwide have signed the Clean Creatives pledge to refuse contracts from fossil fuel organisations, along with over 3,700 creatives, dozens of brands, and a growing list of content creators and influencers. The campaign is responsible for ensuring accreditation standards for sustainability certifications exclude the fossil fuel industry, as seen in its work to successfully pressure B Lab to set a new precedent and revoke Havas’ B Corp status following its Shell contract win.

 

In addition to the campaign's success and support from many industry leaders, Executive Director Duncan Meisel has been recognized on the 2024 Grist 50 List, Adweek's 2023 Sustainability Honoree and secured a spot on PRovoke's Innovator 25 North America list in 2022. The campaign regularly releases reports with bespoke data on fossil fuel contracts globally, including the F-List, which identifies agencies engaged with oil and gas companies.

 

Website: cleancreatives.org | Twitter: @CleanCreatives | Instagram: @clean_creatives


Contact details:

Claire Maloney | [email protected] | 0431 279 785