Drax ‘Lobbying Efforts’ Revealed in Internal Treasury Memos
The power station operator Drax is applying intense pressure across government departments to influence energy policy in its favour, DeSmog can reveal. In particular, the biomass giant is pressing the government to deliver key decisions that could hasten the adoption of a costly and controversial ‘carbon negative’ technology. The set of documents seen by DeSmog […]
Tory-Linked Think Tank Appoints ‘Brazen’ Climate Denier as Director
A think tank with ties to senior Conservative politicians has appointed a businessman who claims environmentalism is part of a “totalitarian” plan to control the public, and says there is “no causal link” between human-made carbon emissions and global warming. Michael John Cole, chairman of a Newcastle-based health foods distributor, joined the Global Warming Policy […]
Fossil Fuel Groups ‘Spent Millions’ on Social Media Ads Spreading Climate Disinformation During COP27
Fossil fuel-linked groups spent around $4 million on Facebook and Instagram ads that spread false climate claims over the COP27 summit, a new report says. The physical presence of more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists overshadowed the November conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, as world leaders, NGOs and activists gathered in a bid to accelerate […]
Shell Canada’s Latest President Spent Years on Board of Climate Denier Group
Shell Canada is going out of its way to assure the public that it cares deeply about fixing the climate emergency. The oil and gas major paid late last year for an advertising feature in the Globe & Mail touting its commitment to a “net-zero” economy where humankind is no longer releasing atmosphere-warming emissions. “We’re […]
New Report Highlights Pesticides’ Overlooked Climate Connection
As chemicals designed to kill insects and weeds, fungi and rodents, pesticides are among the most toxic and damaging substances on the planet. Their harmful impacts on human and ecosystem health are generally well understood. What receives far less attention, however, is the climate impact of these agrochemicals. Not only do pesticides directly contribute to […]
UAE Selects Fossil Fuel Exec to Lead COP28
Climate campaigners reacted with outrage on Thursday to the announcement that the United Arab Emirates’s president has appointed the leader of the country’s national oil company to preside over the 2023 United Nations climate talks, which the UAE will host later this year. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber was named as president-designate of this year’s UN […]
Colorado Seeks Payments for Oil & Gas Cleanup
By Nick Bowlin, Capital & Main. Originally published on Capital & Main. Since October, Colorado oil and gas companies have been submitting plans to the state detailing how they intend to pay for plugging and cleaning up oil and gas wells at the end of their productivity. When the process is complete, every operator in Colorado […]
Nigel Lawson, Founder of Tufton St. Climate Denial Group, Quits Parliament
The founder and honorary president of the Global Warming Policy Foundation has announced he will be retiring from parliament. Lord Nigel Lawson, who was chancellor under Margaret Thatcher, is leaving the House of Lords, according to the Telegraph. The newspaper – which regularly runs columns attacking climate action – notes Lawson’s pivotal role in the […]
Heard of “Net-Zero Oil” or “Carbon Negative” Bioenergy? In 2023 You Will
Last year, we chased ambitious stories all along the climate spectrum. We investigated allegations of workers exposed to radioactive oilfield waste, reported from the frontlines of climate-fueled extreme weather and climate migration, expanded our coverage of the climate impact of agriculture, followed the ongoing buildout of LNG, and sent a team to COP27, among other […]
2022 Was a Big Year for Climate Action in the Courts
It was another busy year in the courts for climate-related cases. From challenges to fossil fuel and petrochemical expansion to climate lawsuits against Big Oil and national governments, there were notable victories for climate action and accountability in 2022. There were also some setbacks, for instance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s limitation of the U.S. EPA’s […]