lobbying | The Price of Oil

Posts in lobbying

Protest Against “Big Oil Corruption”
Andy Rowell
Jan24
At noon today, a coalition of environmental groups, including Oil Change International and 350.org will blow the whistle of “Big Oil’s corruption” on Capitol Hill, hours before Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address. Activists will be gathering at the Capitol dressed in referee uniforms and then heading to our old friends at…
Continue reading ‘Protest Against “Big Oil Corruption”’.
Oh the Canadian hypocrisy..
Andy Rowell
Jan09
For over two years now the Canadian and Albertan governments have engaged in one of the most extensive public relations campaigns ever seen at the EU. They have been trying to undermine European efforts to tackle climate change through the Fuel Quality Directive. They even set up a secret task force to push their pro-tar…
Continue reading ‘Oh the Canadian hypocrisy..’.
Tar Sands: Britain is “Canada’s Partner in Crime”
Andy Rowell
Nov28
Late last week on the eve of the Durban climate talks, the British Climate Change secretary, Chris Huhne boasted that Britain was showing “leadership” in the UN negotiations. But whilst Britain is bragging about leading the climate change fight, it is still leading the pro-tar sands charge in Europe; a somewhat hypocritical position. This dirty…
Continue reading ‘Tar Sands: Britain is “Canada’s Partner in Crime”’.
Britain Backs Canadian Bullying Over Tar Sands
Andy Rowell
Oct26
Britain was joined by some Eastern European countries yesterday in backing Canada in its dirty fight to force the EU not to discriminate against the tar sands in the Fuel Quality Directive. A meeting of European environment experts yesterday had been expected to vote on a proposal by the European Commission to give a different…
Continue reading ‘Britain Backs Canadian Bullying Over Tar Sands’.
Talking Dirty in the President’s Ear
Andy Rowell
Oct25
The revolving door between the Obama Administration and TransCanada keeps on spinning, despite a decision on the hugely controversial pipeline just weeks away. Let’s not forget the first revolving door story, which revolves around Paul Elliott, who is TransCanada’s lobbyist promoting Keystone XL. Elliot worked for Hilary Clinton during her 2008 campaign. Recently released embarrassing…
Continue reading ‘Talking Dirty in the President’s Ear’.
From selling cigarettes to dirty oil
Andy Rowell
Oct24
For anyone who has watched the parody film “Thank you for smoking”, they would know that being a spin doctor for a tobacco company is one of the more dubious ethical career choices. If anyone had the inclination, there are thousands of internal tobacco industry documents online that show that the tobacco industry has systematically…
Continue reading ‘From selling cigarettes to dirty oil’.
Senators Express “Serious Concern” Over KXL
Andy Rowell
Oct18
Last week I blogged about the revelation that the US State Department had actually assigned an important Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to a company with financial ties to the pipeline company itself, TransCanada. The final contractor chosen – Cardno Entrix – was recommended by TransCanada despite the fact…
Continue reading ‘Senators Express “Serious Concern” Over KXL’.
Europe Labels the Tar Sands “Dirty”
Andy Rowell
Oct05
Earlier this year I worked with Friends of the Earth on a report that exposed the extent of Canadian lobbying on the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD), a landmark piece of legislation by the EU which hopes to reduce CO2 emissions from transport fuels. We detailed how there had been a huge number of lobbying events…
Continue reading ‘Europe Labels the Tar Sands “Dirty”’.
Britain Backs Canada Over Tar Sands Fight
Andy Rowell
Sep27
On a warm summer evening in July this year, in the prestigious and ornate College Garden of Britain’s historic Westminster Abbey, 250 guests listened to a five-piece band. The music was the start of an inaugural summer party organised by the public relations company Hanover Communications. The guest list for the party was impressive, including…
Continue reading ‘Britain Backs Canada Over Tar Sands Fight’.
Fred Upton: Big Oil’s Superman in SuperCongress
Steve Kretzmann
Aug18
Numerous recent polls reveal that the American people believe that Congress is more responsive to their campaign donors than their own constituents. In addition, Americans of all affiliations clearly favor ending oil industry handouts. The question is, whose side is Fred Upton on: the American people’s or Big Oil’s? Rep. Upton is Big Oil’s biggest…
Continue reading ‘Fred Upton: Big Oil’s Superman in SuperCongress’.