The truth about conflict of interest and big polluters dumping Paris climate agreement
The crisis deepened for climate change after United States president Donald Trump announced that his office would be pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement. This is not a surprise as the new administration is filled with both climate change deniers and former executives of fossil fuel companies.
In this lead up to World Environment Day with the theme of “Connecting People to Nature”, one of the most disturbing elements that have emerged is the issue of conflict of interest.
It becomes obvious how insidious yet ubiquitous the problem is when we see the facts in context: the sponsorship of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference by some of the biggest polluters; former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson now the US secretary of state; a diluted Climate Accord; US pullout from the agreement.
The release of the report “Inside Job: Big Polluters’ lobbyists on the inside at the UNFCCC” by the international think-tank Corporate Accountability International (CAI) ahead of the intersessional meeting of the UNFCCC in Bonn in May 2017 highlighting how the representatives of “Big Oil” (fossil fuel giants) in Climate conferences – direct and indirectly – affect outcomes adversely is an eye-opener.
One of the most basic steps to cut emissions and avert global warming is to cut down use of fossil fuels drastically. Just using up current global reserves will decimate the global carbon budget and push global temperatures above 2ºC. Yet extraction and exploration continues, in the face of war, terrorism and even people’s protests against pipelines and exploration!
The fossil fuel giants and OPEC countries make massive profits from oil revenue and they employ enough PR people to make a low-carbon growth model sound uneconomic as well as unviable. Business and industry non-governmental organisations (BINGOs) representing Big Oil continue to flood climate negotiations and their sometimes stealthy, sometimes open protection of their interest in keeping the growth of the economy coupled with fossil fuel use is becomes evident following each climate conference.
CAI in “Inside Job” lists some of the biggest BINGOs protecting the interests of Big Oil in climate conferences and how they influence outcomes, for example, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Mining Association (also American); Business Roundtable (USA); FuelsEurope; the Business Council of Australia; the International Chamber of Commerce. These interest groups represent the interests of the fossil fuel industry such as Shell, Chevron, BP, Exxon Mobil, et al.
At the May 2017 session of the UNFCCC this issue of conflict of interest was discussed and Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua called for rules regarding the participation of observers who have “commercial” and “conflict of” interest in the November Bonn Climate Summit. Jesse Bragg of CAI calls for a de-normalising of this collusion between government representatives and Big Oil representatives. It would be the first step towards a fossil fuel–free economic growth.
Even as the United States pulled out of the climate accord, others such as India, EU and China reiterated their commitments. While in Germany, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reassured the world of India’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement. His words reinforced the assurances of Piyush Goyal, India’s minister of state with independent charge for power, coal, new and renewable energy in the UN Energy Forum at Vienna in May 2017.
Yet, the fact that one of the most important Indian government portfolios combines coal and new and renewable energy is a key example of how normal the inclusion of fossil fuel is to energy security. As a recent report highlights, just the 370 planned thermal power plants in India will deplete the global carbon budget and shatter the 1.5 degree threshold aspired for in the Paris Climate Accord. Similarly the conflict of interest becomes glaring when Adani Enterprises sets up a mega solar project in India but continues to invest in and promote coal mining in Australia that both pollutes the environment immediately and add immensely to emissions when the coal is used.
But all is not gloomy. Awareness of the problem is the first step to addressing and solving a problem. While CAI put the issue front and centre at the Bonn conference it’s up to all of us to remain vigilant and highlight the conflict of interests until the negotiators and government officials are sensitised. A lot of the actions and mainstream rhetoric pits the environment against the economy but with awareness of the interests Big Oil everywhere perhaps the win-win mind set of a pro-environment development model will take root.
According to the report “Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth” released by the OECD taking climate action will actually boost economic growth. Synchronising the growth and climate agendas could add one per cent to average economic output in G20 countries by 2021 and lift 2050 output by up to 2.8 per cent.
The G20 countries account for 80 per cent of global emissions and if the climate-aware growth model is adopted in these nations the roadmap to Paris climate accord becomes viable.
There is no better way to connect people and nature than make them adopt sustainable livelihoods and a green growth model.
Just as the WHO managed to neutralise the agenda of tobacco companies in order to bring about guidelines and advisories against smoking to save people’s health, so too should UNFCCC deal with the Big Oil lobby to save the health of the planet. Medical research articles end with a declaration of competing interests or an assurance that there is no conflict of interest.
These articles play a vital role in informing the choices of medical practitioners. When life hangs in balance it’s important that all competing interests are revealed. Well, the life of our planet is at stake and needs drastic intervention if it continues to be habitable for a vast majority of us.
Action needs to be informed by information that’s free of vested interests from the big polluters.