Fossil Fuel Industry Lobby Groups
These are organizations that present themselves as independent think tanks or grassroots initiatives but are funded or coordinated by fossil fuel corporations. Their goal is to obscure the link between emissions from burning fossil fuels and climate change, to prevent regulation, and to create the illusion of scientific uncertainty.
The fossil fuel industry can promote its economic interests relatively openly, for example through lobbying and efforts to influence specific legislation. Industrial sectors form various coalitions and networks around shared interests. The primary purpose of these groupings is to align strategies and share know-how. This section focuses mainly on this form of open “corporate activism”. A special case is the hidden corporate support of civic associations.
Examples: Global Climate Coalition, Energy Citizens
The most influential disseminators of climate disinformation are corporations in the fossil fuel sector (oil, coal, gas). When companies seek to weaken environmental regulations, they may do so publicly and under their own name. This often occurs in the initial phase of reactions to newly proposed environmental legislation, such as the Clean Air Act (USA, 1963). However, interests communicated in this way are typically not perceived by the public as credible or legitimate. Historically, a more effective corporate strategy has been to finance groups and organizations that defend the interests of the fossil fuel industry indirectly. For example, ExxonMobil funded think-tanks and advocacy groups that questioned climate science. Other tools include advertising campaigns, public relations activities, donations to political parties, and similar measures.
Industry Associations, Networks, and Coalitions
Industry associations bring together companies from a given sector to defend their interests more effectively, including in the area of climate policy. These may include associations from the fossil fuel, agricultural, steel, or gas sectors. In the Czech Republic, examples include the Czech Association of Petroleum Industry and Trade or the Association for District Heating in the Czech Republic. Multiple sectors with shared interests may form industrial coalitions; an example is the Global Climate Coalition (1989–2001), which ceased operations after achieving its objective: the withdrawal of the United States from the Kyoto Protocol. Ideologically aligned think-tanks also organize into transnational networks, such as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation or the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change. Networks and coalitions primarily provide members with stronger bargaining power, cost-sharing, shared know-how, and coordinated strategies.
Artificially Mobilized Groups (Astroturf / Front Groups)
In some cases, industry actors themselves create civic groups that appear to represent spontaneous grassroots activism but are in fact managed and financed by industry, for example through contracted public relations agencies. This artificially generated activism serves to manipulate the media and public opinion. Examples include the U.S.-based Energy Citizens or the Consumer Energy Alliance.
Sources
- Dunlap, R. E.; McCright, A. M. Climate change denial: Sources, actors and strategies. In: Lever-Tracy, C. (ed.). Routledge Handbook of Climate Change and Society. London: Routledge, 2010, pp. 240–259.
- Beder, S. Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism. Devon: Green Books, 1997.
- Brulle, R. J.; Roberts, J. T.; Spencer, M. C. (eds.). Climate Obstruction across Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024.
- McCright, A. M.; Dunlap, R. E. Defeating Kyoto: The Conservative Movement’s Impact on U.S. Climate Change Policy. Social Problems, 2003, 50(3), 348–373.
- Dunlap, R. E.; Brulle, R. J. Sources and Amplifiers of Climate Change Denial. In: Holmes, D. C.; Richardson, L. M. (eds.). Research Handbook on Communicating Climate Change. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2020, pp. 49–61.
- Vidomus, P. Oteplí se a bude líp. Prague: SLON, 2018.