The climatosceptic lobby financed by the oil tanker Exxon

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The climatosceptic lobby financed by the oil tanker Exxon

Key words: Giec, lobbies, climatosceptics, EXXON MOBIL CORP, ESSO

By Thomas Vampouille
19 / 07 / 2010 | Update: 17: 55 Reactions (19)

In 2007, the oil company promised to stop funding such groups. Photo credits: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The US giant paid more than a million euros last year to several groups of influence fighting against the control of greenhouse gases, reveals the British press.

The weather is covering for the climatosceptics. The British newspaper Times reported on Monday that several organizations fighting against plans to limit greenhouse gases are being financed by the American oil giant ExxonMobil (Esso's parent company), for almost a million pounds (1,2 million euros).

Climate-skeptics, who refute man's responsibility for global warming - when they do not question global warming - oppose attempts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, their positions converge with the interests of the oil groups. But the collusion would go much further since many of these organizations - including the Media Research Center, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, the Pacific Research Institute and the Heritage Foundation - would have benefited from the generosity of ExxonMobil. The British daily, however, does not specify how this money was actually used.


Word not kept

The revelation is embarrassing in the context of the siege of the skeptics' camp for several months against researchers of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Giec). Ten days ago, the former had already suffered a setback in the so-called "climategate" case, an attempt to discredit the latter. An independent investigation had in fact bleached the climatologists, accused of having falsified scientific data to accredit their theory. On the contrary, the investigation established their "rigor" and "honesty". From now on, it is the integrity of the skeptics that is questioned. For example, the Media Research Center, which rightly challenged the investigation report establishing the honesty of Giec climatologists, would have received last year 50.000 books (almost 60.000 euros).

The climate-sensitive lobby is not the only one to be discredited by these revelations. At a time when the oil sector is not in the odor of sanctity, following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Exxon is also caught in the act of lying. In a report from 2007, the company promised to "stop contributing to groups whose position on climate change could divert attention from the important discussion on energy security." Word not kept. This time, contacted by the Times, Exxon promised that three of the foundations cited by the newspaper would no longer be funded. But nothing about the twenty-one other groups that would have received money last year.

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