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Apr. 2019 | Davies was interviewed on the Real News Network where he outlined the origins of CIC’s 2019 trade association PR investigation, showcased the report’s findings, and discussed the purpose of trade association campaigns. As discussed on the show, the money spent on PR contracts by renewable energy associations and fossil fuel associations was a major finding of CIC’s investigation. Of the almost $1.4 billion spent by trade associations in the past decade, only $98.4 million of it (7%) was spent by renewable energy associations.

Feb. 2019 | Kert Davies was an invited speaker at a conference held at Brown University on the economic impacts of climate change and the opposition to policy advances. The day-long event, America’s Climate Change Future: Housing Markets, Stranded Assets, and Entrenched Interests, gathered experts on a range of climate change topics ranging from increased flood risk and stranded assets in fossil fuels to the climate change countermovement and misinformation campaigns. This is the full session with Davies, Senator Whitehouse and Brown professor Timmons Roberts called, “Pushing Against Climate Denial and Defending Science.” Read more.

Drilled 2

Nov. 2018 | A newly released podcastDrilled, “investigates the crime of the century — the creation of climate denial.” The podcast utilizes primary source documents, such as internal corporate correspondenceleaked plansgovernment records, and interviews with former fossil fuel industry scientists to illuminate this little known history. The collection of documents hosted on Climate Files and featured in Drilledoutline a story of corporate knowledge and deceit. Interviewed for the podcast, Kert Davies leads the listener through documents which illustrate corporate knowledge of climate science as early as the 1950s as well as industry campaigns to actively mislead the public. Read more.

Sept. 2018 | The Philippines Commission on Human Rights held a series of hearings in 2018 to investigate the role of fossil fuel companies in facilitating the climate crisis of the Filipino people. Using documents available on Climate Files, Kert Davies presented to the Commission on what fossil fuel companies knew about climate science decades ago; what those companies, their trade associations and front groups did to obstruct climate change policy on the state, federal and international level; and evidence that fossil fuel companies paid millions of dollars to surrogate organizations and spokes-scientists to spread climate science denial and misinformation. Read more.

Sept. 2018 |CIC’s full powerpoint presentation to the Philippines Commission on Human Rights, which held a series of hearings in 2018 to investigate the role of fossil fuel companies in facilitating the climate crisis of the Filipino people. Using documents available on Climate Files, Kert Davies presented to the Commission on what fossil fuel companies knew about climate science decades ago; what those companies, their trade associations and front groups did to obstruct climate change policy on the state, federal and international level; and evidence that fossil fuel companies paid millions of dollars to surrogate organizations and spokes-scientists to spread climate science denial and misinformation. Read more.

Investigation Highlights

cic pr trade association report summarization photo

CIC’s Trade Associations PR Investigation in the Media

In early March 2019, the Climate Investigations Center (CIC) launched its Trade Associations and the Public Relations Industry report, which revealed the almost $1.4 billion energy and business trade associations spent over the past decade on advertising, communications, and advocacy via contracts with public relations (PR) companies. Since the publication of the report, CIC’s Kert

William Happer

Investigation: Trump Climate Denial Committee

The Washington Post broke the story that the White House plans to “create an ad hoc group of select federal scientists to reassess the government’s analysis of climate science and counter conclusions that the continued burning of fossil fuels is harming the planet.” Spearheading this proposed Presidential Committee on Climate Security is William Happer, a

Human Rights

Philippines Human Rights Commission Investigates Climate Denial

As climate change liability –who is to blame– increasingly lands in courtrooms around the globe, the Philippines Commission on Human Rights is taking a different and unique approach, investigating climate change impacts as a human rights infringement. The Commission has held a series of hearings this year to investigate the role of fossil fuel companies (also

Shell climate change

Internal Shell Climate Documents Revealed

Newly uncovered internal documents from Royal Dutch Shell/Shell Group provide new insights into what they knew about climate change and when they knew it. Documents unearthed by Jelmer Mommers of De Correspondent were published today on Climate Files, a project of the Climate Investigations Center.  These documents date back to 1988 and show intense interest in climate

Red Team Heartland

Heartland Institute’s Climate Red Team Lists Revealed

The Heartland Institute is frustrated that their yearlong campaign to create a ‘Red Team-Blue Team’ debate on climate has failed.  Leaked internal email reveals their anxiety and desperation that the Trump team isn’t doing enough to kill action on climate change.  In what appears to be retiring Heartland director Joe Bast’s swan song, things are not going

Willie Soon Harvard Smithsonian Documents Reveal Southern Company Scandal

All the Willie Soon documents are organized and attached below. This post will be updated as this investigation proceeds… Just wanted to get something up tonight…and since the stories were supposed to be embargoed for midnight…alas…(btw, it is amazing how many folks are jamming on the web on a Saturday…not a bad news day after

ALEC Hates the Climate

ALEC’s Long War on Climate Science and Climate Policy American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has long attacked climate science and climate policy.  The most recent skirmish surrounds greenhouse gas rules being drafted by the EPA.  ALEC’s 2011 submission to the EPA docket on proposed greenhouse gas regulations from new sources contains the following gems: “Carbon dioxide