Corporate interference
The climate crisis has been driven by large corporations, which are responsible for a majority of climate pollution. Many of them are undermining climate science, policy and action, while influencing UN negotiations to protect their interests and “greenwash” their activities. Corporations must be held accountable, and the public protected against vested interests, and polluters must pay.
Corporations caused climate change
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A number of massive companies are driving the climate crisis.
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100 active fossil fuel producers are linked to 71% of industrial greenhouse gas emissions since 1988 (when the IPCC started its work).
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Over half of all global industrial emissions since the industrial revolution in 1750 have been traced to these 100 fossil fuel producers.
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Fossil fuel companies and their products have released more emissions in the last 28 years than in the 237 years prior to 1988.
Corporations are undermining climate science and solutions
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Big polluters - like oil, gas, coal, and agricultural transnational corporations (TNCs) – are not only the largest emitters.
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Their climate denial, lobbying, and policy interference also make them one of the primary obstacles to sound climate policy at every level of governance.
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They are obstructing real progress to address the climate crisis across key policy areas that will largely determine how habitable our future will be.
Corporations are influencing the international climate negotiations
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Industry associations access the UN climate negotiation to lobby delegates, gather information, and greenwash their corporate images.
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Companies are co-opting technology discussions to appear as part of the solution while at the same time operating businesses that are primarily responsible for the climate crisis.
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They are trying to expand carbon markets to enable polluters to continue to pollute egregiously without consequence and distracting attention from real solutions.
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The same transnational corporations whose profits depend on the burning of oil, coal, and gas have been permitted to bankroll the climate negotiations and sponsor the meetings.
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Many Northern governments are facilitating the domination of climate finance by corporate interests. The Green Climate Fund, central to climate financing, is exposed to corporate capture.
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Big Ag is greenwashing its environmentally harmful practices including synthetic fertilizers and monoculture-crop farming by branding it “climate-smart agriculture”.
Corporations must be held accountable
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Fossil fuel TNCs and other industries intent on exploiting the climate crisis are hijacking
the negotiations, stifling ambition, pushing false solutions, and blocking the financing of real solutions. -
Governments must insulate climate policymaking from corporate capture at all levels, and hold recalcitrant governments accountable for doing their fair share to address climate change.
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This requires a conflict of interest policy to protect climate policy from obstruction by polluters.
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Corporations should also be held accountable for the impacts of decades of misinformation and political interference in climate policy.
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Corporate capture should be called out where and as it occurs. Safeguards are needed to protect climate policies at the international and national level from industry interference.
For more information see:
Polluting Paris: How Big Polluters are Undermining Climate Policy
The Carbon Majors Report 2017
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