The greenwashing of some of the world’s biggest polluters’ by European public relations and lobbying consultancies is exposed in a new report released today. As the COP21 Paris climate summit enters its second week, “The climate smokescreen – PR companies lobbying for big polluters in Europe“, by Corporate Europe Observatory, presents case studies of seven public relations firms with climate-destructive clients.
The study examines Volkswagen’s crisis communications efforts as the emissions scandal unfolded, Gazprom’s use of PR diplomacy to facilitate its drilling in the Arctic, and spin by the palm oil industry as the Indonesian rainforest burned. It also investigates the consultancies and strategies behind the image-laundering efforts of other corporate perpetrators of climate change including Shell, Total, and Koch Industries.
Detailing the various tactics of PR firms, the report explores the professional greenwashers’ lobbying toolbox, from setting up cocktail parties and mingling events with politicians, to helping polluters access and influence the regulatory process, to slick campaigns that rebrand dirty energy as clean fuel. The research reveals how PR and lobbying consultancies make some of the biggest climate change culprits appear to be part of the solution. However, these “solutions” simply allow polluters to avoid changing their dirty business models and delay real action that could enact a transition to clean energy and keep us below the catastrophic tipping point for global warming.
The report shows the contrast between the increasing number of PR firms who state concern over climate change, and the destructive clients whose interests they serve and calls for tight restrictions on the role of big polluters, and the lobby firms representing them, in decision-making on climate policy.
The report can be read here: https://corporateeurope.org/sites/default/files/attachments/the_climate_s…
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $120,000 in one-time donations and to add 1383 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
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With gratitude and resolve,
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