http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/05/how-fossil-fuel-interests-attack-renewable-energy?cmpid=WNL-Friday-May23-2014
[image and links in on-line article]
How Fossil Fuel Interests Attack Renewable Energy
A new report details the extreme measure that the fossil-fuel industry
has taken to attack clean energy.
Gabe Elsner, Energy and Policy Institute
May 22, 2014
Fossil fuel-funded front groups repeatedly spread disinformation on
renewable energy standard and net metering policies in an effort to
overturn pro-clean energy laws in 2013 and 2014.
A new report details the efforts of these front groups to eliminate
clean energy policies across the country. The fossil fuel lobby
aggressively uses lobbying and propaganda to achieve their goals.
Self-identified “free market think tanks” are among the most effective
advocates for the fossil fuel industry to lobby for policy changes.
Dozens of these so-called free market organizations, a majority of which
are members of the State Policy Network (SPN), worked to influence state
level energy policies and attack the clean energy industry.
These organizations are usually described in neutral, nondescript terms,
such as “think tank,” “institute,” or “policy group,” but publicized
internal documents from the American Tradition Institute, Heartland
Institute, and the Beacon Hill Institute suggest that these types of
organizations embrace transactional relationships with the corporate
lobbying interests that fund their operations.
The Beacon Hill Institute, a “think tank” based out of Suffolk
University (and a Koch-funded member of SPN) submitted a controversial
grant request to the Searle Freedom Trust, a prominent conservative
foundation, in they expressly stated: “Success will take the form of
media recognition, dissemination to stakeholders, and legislative
activity that will pare back or repeal [the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative (or RGGI)].” In other words, the Beacon Hill Institute
proposed to pursue biased economic research to support the express goal
to “pare back or repeal” a regional climate change accord — all before
the institute performed any research determining the economic effect of
the law.
Another example of the pay-to-play nature of these so-called “think
tanks” comes from Heartland Institute’s Internal fundraising documents
which stated: “Contributions will be pursued for this work, especially
from corporations whose interests are threatened by climate [change]
policies.”
Despite positioning themselves as ideologically-focused on smaller
government, dozens of these organizations aggressively denounce policy
investments in clean energy as market-distorting and unnecessary, while
remaining silent on the far-larger, decades-old stream of taxpayer
dollars and policies supporting oil, gas, and coal interests.
Over the years, government support for fossil fuels has come from a
variety of sources: tax deductions, tax credits, direct subsidies, cheap
access to public property, pollution remediation, research and
development, and entire government agencies devoted to helping promote
and assist fossil fuel industry growth. By all credible measurements,
fossil fuel subsidies are massive and extremely unpopular, and are
flowing to some of the most highly profitable industries on earth. Yet,
fossil fuel subsidies go largely unmentioned by these “free market”
groups, such as the Heartland Institute, despite their avowed opposition
to wasteful government spending.
Fossil fuel-funded front groups operate in multiple areas to influence
the policy-making process in their attempts to eliminate clean energy
policies. First, groups like the Beacon Hill Institute provide flawed
reports or analysis claiming clean energy policies have negative
impacts. Next, allied front groups or “think tanks” use the flawed data
in testimony, opinion columns, and in the media. Then, front groups,
like Americans for Prosperity, spread disinformation through their
grassroots networks, in postcards mailed to the public, and in
television ads attacking the clean energy policy. Finally, lobbyists
from front groups, utilities, and other fossil fuel companies use their
influence from campaign contributions and meetings with decision makers
to push for anti-clean energy efforts.
Instead of advocating for a fair and free market for electricity, over
the past year and a half, fossil fuel front groups have advocated to
repeal, freeze, and eliminate pro-clean energy policies across the
country on behalf of allies and funders in the fossil fuel industry.
This is an exceprt from a new report, issued today by the Energy and
Policy Institute entitled "Attacks on Renewable Energy Standards and Net
Metering Policies by Fossil Fuel Interests and Front Groups 2013-2014."
You can download the 35-page report at this link.
(http://www.energyandpolicy.org/renewable-energy-state-policy-attacks-report)
Link for graphic:
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/assets/images/story/2014/5/22/body-0-1400789682935.png
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