Plus, a “disinformation” ad complaint dismissed ...
From the Editor's Desk
Starting this spring, schoolchildren across the UK’s Shetland Islands will encounter pop-up science classrooms known as Newton Rooms. That sounds innocent enough, until you realize that Norwegian oil giant Equinor shelled out more than £200,000 to sponsor those classrooms. But that’s not all, reports Ellen Ormesher.
Just 80 miles west of the Shetland Islands, Equinor hopes to receive approval to develop a major new oil and gas field called Rosebank. Given that, a member of the Scottish Parliament called Equinor’s backing for the classrooms “concerning.”
Of course, it goes deeper still. Equinor has a long history of sponsoring education in Norway. It founded Newton Rooms there.
Oil companies view educational and cultural sponsorships as crucial tools in their climate policy obstruction playbooks, according to Rebecca John’s earlier DeSmog reporting of industry documents. They make these investments—including in “STEM education”—because it protects their business interests.
Read the full investigation into the oil-sponsored classrooms, co-published with Norway’s E24.
Another Norwegian giant, fertilizer maker Yara, partnered with Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge and set their sights on building a major chemical plant in the small Texas town of Ingleside, near Corpus Christi. The controversial project would manufacture so-called “low-carbon” ammonia, a key ingredient in fossil fuel-based fertilizers, and rely on carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, a false solution that climate experts say frequently under-performs expectations.
The company launched what some locals call a “charm offensive,” trying to win over support by opening a food bank and giving out free baseball tickets. But as Clare Carlile and Sara Sneath’s reporting shows, major air pollution and environmental justice concerns exist in the area, the state regulators “will give a permit to anybody,” and local residents keep fighting back.
Dive into the full investigation, co-published with The Texas Tribune.
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Image credit: Sabrina Bedford
This Small Texas Town Is Fighting Back Against Big Ammonia
— By Clare Carlile and Sara Sneath (13 min. read) —
European fertiliser giant has launched a local ‘charm offensive’ to gain support for its chemical factory plan.
Shetland Schoolchildren Study in Classrooms Sponsored by Norwegian Oil Giant
— By Ellen Ormesher (7 min. read) —
Critics fear that Equinor’s latest UK education deal is aimed at quelling opposition to North Sea drilling.
UK Advertising Regulator Dismisses a “Disinformation” Complaint Against Saudi Oil Giant
— By TJ Jordan (3 min. read) —
Decision a blow to campaigners, who say the ads gave Saudi Aramco unearned climate credibility.
Climate Progress and Pushback: 365 Days Under Labour
— By Adam Barnett (9 min) —
Green policy is under threat from corporate lobbying, right-wing parties and media and U.S. interference.
Drax Wood Pellet Plans Axed in California
— By Phoebe Cooke (5 min. read) —
Partner firm’s pivot to wood-chipping may yet harm forests, campaigners warn.
From the Climate Disinformation Database: Steve Koonin
Steve Koonin is a university professor and founding director of NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress. According to the New York Times, the Trump Energy Department has hired Koonin as a “special government employee.” In 2019, Koonin was assisting the White House in creating a panel to advise President Donald Trump on climate change. The panel, which was supposed to be led by CO2 proponent Will Happer, has been described as a “slapdash band of climate contrarians.”
In April 2017, writing at the Wall Street Journal, Koonin advocated for the controversial “red team” approach to climate science. E&E News reported he also met with then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to discuss the topic, and that there were rumors Pruitt was considering Koonin to play a role in the process.
Koonin wrote the book, Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters. He spent five years (2004 to 2009) as Chief Scientist for oil giant BP, where he helped to establish its Energy Biosciences Institute. From 1975 to 2006, he was a professor of theoretical physics at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and served as provost from 1995 to 2004.
Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database, Ad & PR Database, and Koch Network Database.
