On her first day as an expert author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Professor Julia Steinberger met Mustafa Babiker, a long-time employee of Saudi Aramco, over breakfast. Babiker was appointed as a coordinating lead author for the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report, a role that sparked debate in the climate science community. A recent Guardian investigation, in collaboration with international journalists, uncovered that at least a dozen of the IPCC’s lead authors are affiliated with Saudi Aramco, other Saudi institutions, or the oil and gas industry. This includes one of the IPCC’s vice-chairs, who also represents Saudi Arabia in global climate negotiations as a government official. The IPCC is the world’s leading authority on climate science, with reports approved by all 195 member countries. These reports are written by hundreds of experts, including those working on emissions reduction policies and technologies—areas that directly affect the economic interests of countries and companies. The Guardian examined the 223 lead authors of Working Group III, which focuses on emissions reduction strategies. Their investigation identified 20 cases with significant conflict of interest concerns, more than half of which involved authors linked to Saudi institutions. These findings have raised questions about the potential influence of oil interests on the IPCC’s scientific assessments. Several lead authors with ties to Saudi Aramco are working on chapters that are directly relevant to the company’s business. Dr Diego Armando Moya Pinta, an Aramco employee since 2022, is listed as an honorary senior research fellow at Imperial College London and is one of 14 lead authors for the energy systems chapter. Another lead author, Professor Zain Yamani, conducted joint research with Aramco’s New Energies Research Division while serving in his IPCC role. A paper co-authored with two Aramco scientists was published in July. Dr Syed Masiur Rahman, from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, is also connected to Aramco through the university’s close collaboration with the company. Dr Malak Al-Nory, one of the seven vice-chairs of Working Group III, is a senior adviser to the Saudi energy ministry. She continues to represent Saudi Arabia in UN climate negotiations while serving as a vice-chair, a situation that has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. The IPCC allows government-employed scientists to participate in its reports, but Al-Nory’s dual roles are considered unusual. Experts have criticized the IPCC’s conflict of interest policy as outdated, noting that authors do not publicly declare their conflicts and that the committee overseeing these issues does not disclose its decisions. The IPCC maintains that all potential conflicts of interest were resolved by the working group’s vice-chairs and that no authors were referred to the conflict of interest committee. An IPCC spokesperson emphasized the organization’s commitment to diverse leadership and thorough review processes. However, experts remain concerned that these conflicts could undermine the IPCC’s reputation as an independent and neutral body. They have called for stronger disclosure requirements and updated rules to protect the integrity of the IPCC’s work, especially as fossil fuel interests and some governments push for slower transitions away from oil and gas.