Leaked Memo Reveals Sweeping Corporate Plan To Wreck Climate Action In EU

[hatrack]

A detailed and disturbing strategy document has revealed an extraordinary American plan to destroy Europe's support for the Kyoto treaty on climate change. The ambitious, behind-the-scenes plan was passed to The Independent this week, just as 189 countries are painfully trying to agree the second stage of Kyoto at the UN climate conference in Montreal. It was pitched to companies such as Ford Europe, Lufthansa and the German utility giant RWE.

Put together by a lobbyist who is a senior official at a group partly funded by ExxonMobil, the world's biggest oil company and a fierce opponent of anti-global warming measures, the plan seeks to draw together major international companies, academics, think-tanks, commentators, journalists and lobbyists from across Europe into a powerful grouping to destroy further EU support for the treaty. It details just how the so-called "European Sound Climate Policy Coalition" would work. Based in Brussels, the plan would have anti-Kyoto position papers, expert spokesmen, detailed advice and networking instantly available to any politician or company who wanted to question the wisdom of proceeding with Kyoto and its demanding cuts in carbon dioxide emissions.

It has been drawn up by Chris Horner, a senior official with the Washington-based Competitive Enterprise Institute and a veteran campaigner against Kyoto and against the evidence of climate change. One of his colleagues ­ who describes himself as an adviser to President George Bush ­ was the subject of a censure motion by the Commons last year after he attacked the Government's chief scientist. Mr Horner, whose CEI group has received almost $1.5m (£865,000) from ExxonMobil, is convinced that Europe could be successfully influenced by such a policy coalition just as the US government has been.

EDIT

While there is nothing illegal about the lobbying, the documents reveal a rare insight into the well-funded efforts within the US to influence opinion at senior levels of European corporations. Campaigners say the campaign is similar to a notorious lobbying effort carried out during the 1990s to undermine support for Kyoto within the US. The revelation comes as international negotiators in Montreal are discussing the next step within Kyoto and the possibility of introducing new emissions targets. The Bush administration ­ which has rejected the treaty ­ has insisted it will not agree to any measures that legally bind it to reduce emissions. Mr Horner has been present this week in Montreal.

EDIT

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article331768.ece

[rodeodance]

1. greed, lies and scare tactics once again at work!

[medeak]

2. recommended n/t

[acmejack]

3. A proven model with a track record of success!

This method has been painstakingly honed to an art form by GOP, Inc. Developed for use in the United States, GOP Inc unconditionally guarantees the desired results*!

* Repeated large cash infusions may be required to achieve proper operation.

[bvar22]

4. Countries, Borders, Will of the People, Democrats, Republicans......

don't matter anymore. The Global Corps transcend them all.
The old paradigm IS obsolete.
There IS a World War in progress.
It is being fought between the People who Own the Corporations, and "All the Rest of Us!"
If we don't find a way to fight this WAR, the Battle between the Democrats and Republicans is pointless!

The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM
for those who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners)
at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[Dead_Parrot]

5. I wish I could say I was surprised

:puke:

[stepnw1f]

6. Number One Reason I Despise Corporations

the bottom line has nothing to do with the reality people struggle in. It's immoral and disgusting. If they could make money off of killing people they ..... nevermind. They already do.(Military Industrial Complex)

[efhmc]

7. Why don't more people understand how this adversely effects anyone

who is breathing earth air?

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. This is like a plot from an Austin Powers' movie.

Someone pinch me! We've been taken over by Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard!

[phantom power]

9. Can any Europeans comment on whether this might work?

I've always believed that the success of organizations like CEI were based partly on culture peculiar to the United States. My intuition says that creating a European version of CEI won't be as effective. But I'd love to hear the opinions of people who live there.

[schrodingers_cat]

18. I'm not a European but I played one for 3 years.......

When I was in Germany, they passed legislation that made corporations responsible for the amount of packaging that they contributed to landfills (through back-charges, I believe). This created a huge incentive for the companies to engineer their packaging to the absolute minimum. Truly brilliant, on one hand, absolutely necessary, on the other, due to the limited amount of space available for landfill on their small slice of the continent. This kind of proactive thinking shows as well in many other decisions related to air quality and the generation of energy. Not perfect, mind you, but willful to head in the right direction.
They also rule with a parliamentary system, so there is more diverse representation in their government and this type of thinking isn't associated rhetorically with tree hugging pot smoking peaceniks. This is where our 2-party system undermines our ability for diverse thinking on a government level..

[rman]

28. It most likely will have an effect, as does most mass manipulation

Certainly the corporate establishment in Europe does for the most part think that 'the american way' (privatize and self-regulate everything) is the right way. The European Commission (the non-elected branch of Eu government) is a strong proponent of such policies.

Further we have US funded think-tanks over here that push similar policies.
You don't see many Dutch think-tanks in the US, nor do you see for instance Venezuelan funded think-tanks pushing socialist policies.

The general trend in Europe is a movement to the Right, and much like the Dem party in the US, most of the leftist parties already have moved towards the Right.

[julianer]

30. No, I don't think so

I think the general movement of populations is to the left but the movement of traditional social democratic political parties is to the right (or it has been - I think the tide turned some months ago). There is a growing tension as a result - you could see this in the French rejection of the EU constitution which was very neo-liberal and free market, and in the emergence of the Left Party in Germany winning 9% in its first election.

I think these lobbyists have missed the boat - the argument on climate change is pretty much won in Europe (the major western European countries, anyway). The new Tory party leader has paraded his green credentials by calling for new policy development and 'sustainable growth'. His policy shift is because he wants to chime with the popular mood i.e. well to the left of traditional Tory or Republican stances on environmental issues. There is much re-alignment around the centre ground in the UK, and Europe generally, and it is quite probable that the Tories will end up to the left of Labour on some issues.

[rman]

33. I agree that the population is moving to the left,

but leftist parties which would likely benefit are, let's say, not as left ad they used to be.
Also i agree that the lobbyists and other policy pushers probably aren't getting the results they want - but that doesn't mean it has no effect.
I'm not so sure the center is where leftist policies are, and i'm sure that "sustainable growth" is not such a leftist position - the "sustainable" part is, but the growth part isn't. Not that the left doesn't want growth, but it's not a goal per-se; sustainable first, growth if and when possible.
It's the 'free-trade'/'self-regulation' -capitalists who have been pushing the notion of sustainable (eternal) growth for decades.

[RazzleDazzle]

10. How to ruin a perfectly good planet

And, as the bumper sticker/t-shirt goes: Good planets are hard to find.

I can't regard this as anything but pure evil. "Evil" was a word I used very, very, very rarely prior to George W. Bush. Now I see it everywhere. It's metastasized. There is a cancer on our planet, and it's name is corporatism (fascism) with its untrammeled, insatiable greed.

[iamahaingttta]

11. I really think it's about time...

...for these American corporations to go fuck themselves.

Seriously though, Marx is about to be proven right. They are going to be crushed under their own weight. We, the workers are not going to take much more of this crap. A small percentage of us LOUDLY not buying their products and services anymore will be enough to tip the scales. We have the power, and they know it. It's only their thinly veiled control of the media that keeps the whole thing propped up. the house of cards is coming down soon...

Good riddance, I say!

[barb162]

12. sick, sick, sick, sick....

[politicaholic]

13. Sociopaths with too much power...

really man, these people are truly out of their friggin' minds.

I swear, they would destroy the rest of the world just so they would have the prettiest lawn.

And Saddam was the biggest threat to the planet...yeah right.

[demo dutch]

14. What a great country!! :(

[Selteri]

15. Why do the corporations hate us for our freedoms and lives? NT

[Hissyspit]

16. Some scientist recently said we have a decade to make real changes

in greenhouse gasses or we will face irreversible and accelerating devastating climate change.

[Dead_Parrot]

17. James Hansen

Said it recently (thread). The IPCC and an EU body have said pretty much the same thing.

[Hissyspit]

27. Thanks.

I was wondering.

[phantom power]

36. And his statement was at *most* a decade.

There are other climatologists who have concluded that irreversible climate change is already guaranteed. It's now simply a question of whether we continue to make it worse or not. I also fall into this camp, especially considering that so far our CO2 output increases each year. We aren't even close to reducing our output, forget about reducing the CO2 in the atmosphere.

[TwentyFive]

19. Exxon is run by Conservative Christians and Catholics. Armageddeon anyone?

When they took over Mobil, the first thing they did was to eliminate non-discrimination for gays.

I'm sure Armageddeon plays a role in their plans to destroy our planet. The Exxon execs probably think it is a good thing. It just means that jesus will be coming back sooner to suck his people out of the planet while the pagans, gays, leftists, etc. struggle with all the mess.

[nicknameless]

20. When they're through destroying this planet's ability to support life,

where exactly are these rw maggots going to go? Their actions support the notion that they are in no way human.

[W stands for Wacko]

21. Rice scheduled to refute this with a straight face tomorrow?

Poor Condi.

So smart, so ambitious, and so used by the Neo-con pimps for her good will.

[Peace Patriot]

22. What we need is a positive attitude and hope! --which come from DOING

something about your problems. There are many personal and community things can be done. Reducing car and air travel is one. Getting a hybrid or electric car is another. Reducing use of heat and electricity. Install solar power in homes and office buildings. Creating a community plan for independent alternative energy is also doable. Set a goal, and start working on it. And there is so much more that we could do, on a bigger scale, if only we had decent leadership. But, you know, the global corporate predators who are destroying our planet knew who to target first--the American people--especially in their gaining control over our election system. With Bushite corporations now tabulating all our votes with "TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY software and firmware in the new electronic voting systems, they can now guarantee that we will have wretched leadership on energy policy. They also KNOW that we have the potential power as a sovereign people to dismantle them--to pull their corporate charters--and seize their assets and put them to the use of the public good, or to severely regulate them in the interests of the public and the planet. Many of them are US-based. An American vote is a tremendously potent item in creating a sustainable world, and also curtailing the war profiteers and creating peace. That's WHY they took it away.

I'd say to Europe: Be very wary of changes to your election system. Also, our two peoples--the US and the EU--need to work together to organize boycotts and other forms of pressure on the oil and other corporations, and the banks and finance industry, just as was done to rid South African of apartheid. For all the devastation that the Bush
Cartel has wreaked on our economy, we still have great potential consumer power to change corporate policy.

What is happening now is INSANE. An oil president. An oil war. Tax breaks for the biggest polluters. Record windfall profits for the same. NUTS! BONKERS! LUNACY!

But it wasn't the choice of the American people (I guarantee you that). We tried to throw these bastards out, and got Diebolded. So, we have to work on other forms of pressure AND fix the election system.


------------------------

Throw Diebold and ES&S election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

[DaveColorado]

23. Condi used to be in a leadership role in an oil company

Chevron I think it was, but I can't remember.

[Dead_Parrot]

24. Yeah, Chevron

Google "Altair Voyager" if you want a laugh.
(AbE: And have a strong stomach)

[gordontron]

25. thats why I have an ExposeExxon bumper sticker on my car

I haven't bought gas from exxon for a few years now, and I urge you all to do the same. its just so irritating...

[Nothing Without Hope]

26. ***SAME THING HAPPENED WITH BLOCKING ILLEGAL RAINFOREST LOGGING***

This was BLACKED OUT of the US media and was truly blatant - another exposé of a deliberate US effort to derail long-term efforts by European countries to decrease the illegal rainforest logging that is wiping out the world's last forests. The wood gotten in this way gives nice profits to Bush/GOP cronies in the construction business, you see...

This was a great and important story, but it was only visibile in the press from OTHER countries. See for yourself:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3316529
thread title (March 21, 2005): Secret US plan to derail European fight against illegal rainforest logging

[Theduckno2]

29. One good thing jumped out at me.

"One of his colleagues, who describes himself as an advisor to President George Bush, was the subject of a censure motion by the Commons last year after he attacked the Government's chief scientist.".

Given the ungoing "debate" in the U.S. over the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolution and the Bush Administration's virtual disdain for anything scientific (that stands in the way of profits); it was heartwarming to hear that there are governments that still support science. :applause:

Recommended

[justabob]

31. Makes me sick to my stomach

Not content to simply do their damage by not joining or following things like Kyoto, they have to actively campaign to destroy what other countries do. Why can't They just leave everyone alone? It is so infuriating.

[Bread and Circus]

32. Just another example of what is done to us each and every day

[rucky]

34. Using force to stop them would be an act of self-defense.

i'm just saying. It's coming down to it.

[tex-wyo-dem]

35. This is unbelievably discusting...

A class action lawsuit needs to be filed on behalf of the people of the earth against every f**king one of these "major international companies, academics, think-tanks, commentators, journalists and lobbyists".

[FDR33]

37. News Flash

GWB and his fellow dickheads are trying to destroy the world. Nothing new here.