Pocket Archive: Climate Policy, Politics & Activism

Democrats might never get another opportunity like this. The global climate certainly won’t.

Today, we again face a stark choice between global ecocide – today’s barbarity and democratic eco-socialism as outlined by Hans A. Baer. The choice is ours to make

Stan Cox argues that green growth is an ideology that helps corporations, while failing to tackle the climate crisis.

The Glasgow U.N. climate summit is inundated with fossil fuel lobbyists, according to a recent report published by Global Witness that found “if the fossil fuel lobby were a country delegation at COP, it would be the largest with 503 delegates — two dozen more than the largest country delegation.” We speak with Louis Wilson, senior adviser at Global Witness, and Andrea Ixchíu, a Maya K’iche’ leader, journalist and human rights defender based in Guatemala, about the vast presence of the fossil fuel industry at COP26 and the subsequent greenwashing taking place. “We don’t allow tobacco lobbyists into health conferences, so it begs the question why fossil fuel lobbyists are being allowed into the most important climate conference in a generation,” says Wilson.

"There is no longer any question: These companies knew and lied about their product's role in the climate crisis, they continue to deceive, and they must be held accountable."

One expert called it a “systematic deceptive marketing campaign designed to interfere with the solution that is necessary to respond to the climate emergency: stopping fossil fuel production.” Nearly two thirds of social media posts put out by six major European fossil fuel and energy companies since the end of 2019 present a “green” image of the company, despite the majority of their business activity remaining in fossil fuels, reveals new analysis by DeSmog. The findings add to campaigner concerns that fossil fuel companies are promoting a misleading image of their business models as the need to decarbonize the economy becomes increasingly urgent. DeSmog’s investigation shows a disproportionate focus on green or environmental efforts by the companies — including highlighting their net zero targets — compared to the share of their business devoted to clean energy.

The announcement comes after reports the fossil fuel industry has participated in campaigns aimed at creating confusion about the cause of the climate crisis.

Stop obsessing with how personally green you live – and start collectively taking on corporate power

With a little distance from the COP21 climate negotiations in Paris, it's clear that the meaning of the deal struck there is deeply contested. From the euphoric pronouncements of politicians like U.S. President Obama (this is "the best chance we have to save the one planet that we've got") to the scathing dismissal of climate scientist James Hansen (it's a "fraud"), lots of people reading the coverage of the agreement are understandably confused about what to make of it.