Plus, the Friendly New Face of Dark Money ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Message From the Editor

The U.S. Election Day is here, the day we make a pivotal decision that could define the future of our planet – and the stakes for international climate action couldn’t be more intense.

If the winner is Donald Trump, who revived the “drill, baby, drill” chant during his campaign, all we have to do is look to Alberta, Canada’s latest climate policy as the kind of legislation we can expect around the world.

As DeSmog’s Taylor Noakes reports, over the weekend, in a reality-defying move, the province’s United Conservative Party passed a resolution to rebrand carbon dioxide – the chief gas whose excess in our atmosphere is causing the climate emergency – as a life-giving greenhouse gas, important to “Alberta’s prosperity.”

What?

This brazen display of climate science denial went even further when Alberta Premier Danielle Smith then pledged at the same meeting to “triple down” on her conservative climate principles, DeSmog’s Danielle Paradis writes.

“We will build new pipelines, oil and gas facilities, petrochemical plants, hydrogen plants, and more because Alberta is an energy superpower, and we will not apologize for it,” Smith said to a boisterous crowd of 6,000 backers.

Electing Trump, whose last administration was one of deregulation and dismissal, would only pave the way for more audacious declarations like Smith’s.

And now, across the Atlantic, could the UK be following Alberta with the election of Kemi Badenoch as the new leader of the Conservative Party?

DeSmog revealed that during the Tory leadership contest, Badenoch published a 40-page manifesto that cited the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, a U.S. group led by former advisors to Trump, which has likened climate science to believing the earth is flat. Read the story here.

The outcome of this election will have a momentous influence on the direction the world takes on combating climate obstructionism, and DeSmog will continue to bring you up-to-date news on whatever climate denial takes place afterwards.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter.

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Readers like you power our journalism dedicated to climate accountability. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith Pledges to ‘Triple Down’ on Her Climate Denial

— By Danielle Paradis (2 min. read) —

Speaking at the UCP annual general meeting, the Premier took shots at the federal government and vowed not to “budge an inch.”

Alberta Conservatives Pass Climate Denial Resolution 12 to Celebrate CO2 Pollution

— By Danielle Paradis and Taylor Noakes (6 min. read) —

UCP pledges to abandon the province’s net zero targets, and remove the designation of CO2 as a pollutant.

Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch’s Views on Climate Change

— By Adam Barnett (3 min. read) —

The new leader of the opposition has regularly criticised the UK’s green ambitions.

Utility Industry Dollars Continue to Pour Into Louisiana Public Service Commission Elections

— By Sara Sneath (3 min) —

One candidate has sworn off taking money from regulated companies.

Q&A: ‘Don’t Be Afraid of Your Voice. Because It Will Make a Difference.’

— By Mathew Green (12 min. read) —

Lucy von Sturmer and Duncan Meisel are building communities of creatives dedicated to preventing the advertising and public relations industry from casting polluters as climate saviours.

The words 'climate denier spotlight' in wide appear against a transitional gray background with three smokestacks and two intersecting yellow spotlights highlight a bag of gold.

DonorsTrust is a not-for-profit company that distributes millions of dollars in grants each year to conservative organizations and projects, many of which deny climate science or the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions. DonorsTrust creates accounts known as “donor-advised funds” for conservative philanthropists and groups and then distributes that money to projects that match their ideologies on their behalf. This arrangement also has the effect of concealing the identity of the original donor. Mother Jones has called DonorsTrust “the dark money ATM of the right,” as DeSmog’s Joe Fassler points out this week.

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database, Ad & PR Database, and Koch Network Database.