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 … Read More
lobbying
Europe Labels the Tar Sands “Dirty”
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 … Read More
Britain Backs Canada Over Tar Sands Fight
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 … Read More
Fred Upton: Big Oil’s Superman in SuperCongress
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 … Read More
Canada’s “Dirty Lobby Diary” Exposed
Over the last few months I have been working with Friends of the Earth Europe looking at the extensive lobbying by the Canadian government over the tar sands in Europe. What we uncovered is that over the last two years we have seen a concerted lobbying campaign by the Canadian and Albertan governments to undermine … Read More
EU Looks Set to Label Tar Sands “Dirty”
OK, this week is turning into a tar sands one. The Koch brothers may be keen on cooking the climate by investing in the tar sands, but the EU is one place they may not be able to sell their dirty oil. There is one hell of a diplomatic spat going on behind the scenes … Read More
Time to Vote in the EU Worst Lobby Awards
It’s that time of year again. Over in Europe, a coalition of NGOs is running the “Worst EU Lobbying Awards” and one of the categories for this year’s award is “climate”. There are three nominees for companies and organisations who are the worst offenders when it comes to undermining action on climate change. To vote … Read More
Koch brothers fund fight against California climate law
Earlier this year Greenpeace published an excellent report showing that the secretive and arch conservative billionaire Koch brothers were the main funders of leading right wing climate sceptic organisations. Since then it has emerged that Koch brothers are bank-rolling the ultra-conservative tea party in the US. Koch industries is also, of course, the #1 provider … Read More
75 Per Cent of Oil Lobbyists Worked for Government
Talking to people about the Deepwater Horizon, often a response has been “how can something like that happen in the US.” Exactly that question is being forensically picked over by lawyers and Congressional investigators and the answers are increasingly looking unpalatable. But one thing for sure it could not happen without the raw power of … Read More
Voters demand clean energy as Big Oil squabbles over spill
New research by the influential pollster Joel Benenson, who was the key strategist for Barack Obama during the 2008 election, shows that in the aftermath of the Gulf oil disaster, American voters “overwhelming support a comprehensive clean energy bill.” Nearly two thirds of Americans – some 61% of voters – now support a bill “that … Read More