Message From the Editor
While hundreds of thousands turned out this weekend to protest President Trump’s chaotic policies, U.S. oil executives are also calling out Trump — but in a more private way.
Sharon Kelly’s latest for DeSmog reveals an anonymous survey of Big Oil executives by the Dallas Fed erupted with overwhelmingly negative feedback on what they called Trump’s “disastrous” first few months in office.
“I have never felt more uncertainty about our business in my entire 40-plus-year career,” one commenter said. “The administration’s chaos is a disaster for the commodity markets,” said another. “‘Drill, baby, drill’ is nothing short of a myth and populist rallying cry.”
Yes, even fossil fuel executives from nearly 200 oil companies are venting against the Trump administration (although anonymously) in the new Dallas Fed Energy Survey. This, despite the fact that oil execs donated millions to a reelection campaign that promised more deregulation and higher profits for the industry. Publicly, the oil industry will have you believe they are all in for Trump. But behind the scenes, Big Oil is just catching on that the president’s policies could hurt them, too. Get the full story here.
Even though U.S. oil execs are complaining about the president, politicians across the globe are faithfully hewing to his win-at-all-costs tactics. Take, for instance, Czech MEP Filip Turek, a prominent fossil fuel social media influencer and vintage car collector in Czechia. He makes €120,000 a year as an auto consultant and has attacked the EU’s Green Deal as “one of the biggest scams in history,” paralleling Trump’s climate denial views.
Yet, Turek now serves in a critical climate role in the European Parliament while he’s still paid as a car consultant, reports DeSmog’s Phoebe Cooke. He’s charged with “simplifying and strengthening” the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) — a border tax that aims to put a price on carbon imports.
“Giving Turek this role is a disaster for the integrity of EU climate policy,” demonstrating “completely unacceptable conflicts of interest” and undue influence, said Olivier Hoedeman, a campaigner from the Brussels-based Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO). Sound familiar? You can read Phoebe’s story here, which was published in partnership with Czech investigative media outlet \.
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Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director
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Credit: ARC Forum / Gage Skidmore
Czech MEP Appointed to Climate Role While Paid £10k a Month as Car Consultant
— By Phoebe Cooke (4 min. read) —
The appointment of Filip Turek to a new rapporteur position is a “disaster” for the integrity of EU climate policy, say campaigners.
Oil Execs Warn Privately That Trump’s ‘Chaos’ Could Be ‘Disaster’ for Their Industry
— By Sharon Kelly (6 min. read) —
After donating heavily to Trump’s reelection, Big Oil is just catching on that the president’s policies can hurt them too, anonymous survey of industry executives reveals.
Hedge Fund Boss Paul Marshall Bet Big on Elon Musk Before Trump’s Election
— By Sam Brighgt (5 min. read) —
The UK media baron trebled his shareholding in Tesla, while his outlets pumped out pro-Musk content.
Stephen Harper Shares Stage with Climate Crisis Denier Bjorn Lomborg
— By Mitch Anderson (3 min) —
The former Canadian prime minister with close ties to current Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was attending an energy panel in New Delhi, India.
Doug Ford’s Policies Increased Ontario’s Energy Dependency on U.S., Say Experts
— By Taylor Noakes (6 min. read) —
Importing fracked gas during a trade war undermines Canada’s energy security, environmentalists warn premier.
From the Climate Disinformation Database: Independent Petroleum Producers Association of America (IPAA)
IPAA is a national trade association representing thousands of independent oil and natural gas producers across the United States. According to a 2019 membership brochure, the IPAA represents over 10,000 individual members and 200 public companies. IPAA President Barry Russel, in a letter to prospective members, describes IPAA as a “unified advocacy front” for independent oil and gas producers in Washington.” IPAA has denied charges that hydraulic fracturing or fracking negatively impacts public health, contaminates groundwater, causes earthquakes, and contributes significantly to climate change. On the question of whether fracking threatens public health, the IPAA says, “No. In fact, there is ample evidence that increased natural gas use — made possible by fracking — has improved public health by dramatically improving air quality in recent years. This is not to say there are no risks, but the full body of research on this issue shows that those risks are manageable.”
Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database, Ad & PR Database, and Koch Network Database.
