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8/1/2016 CLIMATE: Fossil fuel backers accused of 'calculated disinformation' -- Thursday, June 23, 2016 — www.eenews.net
attorneys general who in March announced a multistate coalition to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for
climate change risks.
"The strategy decided upon by workshop participants appears clear.... to act under color of law to persuade
attorneys general to use their prosecutorial powers to stifle scientific discourse, intimidate private entities and
individuals, and deprive them of their First Amendment rights and freedoms," GOP members of the House
Science panel wrote in a series of letters to state AGs who are part of the coalition formed in March.
Industry and right-leaning organizations have been making the same arguments for months.
Katie Brown, a spokesperson for industry group Energy in Depth, yesterday wrote that comparing oil
companies to the tobacco industry was a "ridiculous apples-and-snickers bars comparison" and that an
"overwhelming majority of neutral and even left leaning legal experts agree."
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, subpoenaed by the Virgin Islands attorney general as part of its probe of
Exxon, has also said that the investigations of the fossil fuel industry are "totally different" from the past tobacco
litigation.
"The tobacco investigation, the tobacco litigation all involved the sale of a product," CE1 general counsel Sam
Kazman said last week. "This involves a policy debate. This involves an attempt to shutdown dissent."
Advocacy group Environment & Energy Legal Institute, which is opposed to climate change regulation, has
meanwhile filed Information requests seeking the emails of 20 climate scientists who published a public letter
in support of Whltehouse's request that the federal government consider a RICO lawsuit against fossil fuel
companies, as well as requests for more information about coordination between state AGs and
environmentalists.
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) yesterday slammed his GOP colleagues for focusing on the state attorneys general
and not on the allegations that they are investigating. He asked speakers at yesterday's forum to be upfront
about when and if they've met with state attorneys general on the issue.
Oreskes revealed that she was first invited about a year ago to speak with the staff of the New York attorney
general's office about her book. She told E&E Daily in a recent interview that the 2012 workshop arose out of
questions she received in public lectures about her research for "Merchants of Doubt."
For their part, environmentalists say that they have been open about what they call campaigns to expose
climate change misinformation. The document from the workshop, for example, is posted publicly online.
"That 2012 convening was important because it really started moving away from just calling out the conduct to
talking about what can we actually do about it," said Union of Concerned Scientists President Ken Kimmell in a
recent interview. "I think by that time we were starting to become convinced that the parallels between certain
members of the fossil fuel industry and tobacco industry were getting more and more apparent."
Mulvey said that she hoped yesterday's forum would be a "defining moment in congressional scrutiny" on
climate change. Tonko urged everyone involved to move forward with "great integrity."
"I think if indeed a fossil-based industry has conducted themselves in a disingenuous manner and has moved
along with a misinformation campaign, if indeed that's the fact, that's truly regrettable," Tonko said.
Twitter: @apeterka | Email: arellly@eenews.net
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