Democratic lawmakers are doubling down on their investigations into those who don’t toe the line on global warming by demanding records from oil companies they allege are part of a conspiracy “spreading disinformation about climate science.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation obtained an email from staffers of Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu of California and Peter Welch of Vermont. In the email, Lieu and Welch ask other lawmakers to sign the letter demanding records from oil companies they say are “hiding and spreading disinformation to both the public and lawmakers alike concerning the science of climate change.”
“The American people deserve answers from the fossil fuel corporations about their actions to massively deceive the public in regards to climate science,” wrote in their pitch to Democrats.
So far, only 18 out of the 188 Democrats in the House have signed onto the letter, including Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona and six others who went after scientists skeptical of man-made global warming earlier this year. Now they are going after oil companies that don’t tow the line on global warming.
“Given that only a handful of members are willing to put their names on this letter, it is clear that this effort is falling flat on its face,” a former Capitol Hill staffer familiar with the matter told TheDCNF.
Grijalva’s attempt to investigate scientists was met with backlash from those worried it would chill free speech. He sent a letter to universities asking for records regarding scientists skeptical of global warming — the letter has since been taken off the House natural resources committee minority’s website.
Democrats have increasingly been calling for government investigations into groups allegedly spreading misinformation about global warming. At least one Democratic senator has called for the government to prosecute global warming skeptics, comparing their activities to tactics used by the tobacco industry.
Democrats have increasingly been calling for government investigations into groups allegedly spreading misinformation about global warming. At least one Democratic senator has called for the government to prosecute global warming skeptics, comparing their activities to tactics used by the tobacco industry.
Democrats’ effort to launch a congressional investigation of Exxon comes as world leaders are preparing to meet in Paris for a United Nations climate summit. Countries are expected to sign onto a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol.
Exxon opponents hope vilifying the company will help build public support for regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions.
Exxon Mobil has been the main target of such attacks, and Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have backed a federal investigation of the company.
“It appears that Exxon knew its product was causing harm to the public, and spent millions of dollars to obfuscate the facts in the public discourse,” Sanders wrote in a letter Attorney General Loretta Lynch last month. “The information that has come to light about Exxon’s past activities raises potentially serious concerns that should be investigated.”
New York’s attorney general has answered the call from environmentalists and politicians to prosecute Exxon, demanding the company hand over “extensive financial records, emails and other documents” focusing on “the company’s activities dating to the late 1970s,” according to The New York Times.
Democratic AG Eric Schneiderman’s investigation comes after The Los Angeles Times and InsideClimate News published articles claiming Exxon was funding climate science suggesting fossil fuels were driving global warming, but lobbied against policies to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, a left-wing environmental group, released a report claiming there’s a “coordinated campaign of deception” on climate science led by “ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, Shell, Peabody Energy, and other members of the fossil fuel industry.”
“UCS uncovered many internal company documents confirming a massive coordinated campaign of deception conducted by the industry to deceive the public of climate science that even their own scientists confirmed,” reads the letter signed by 18 House Democrats.
Exxon has denied allegations it was deceiving the public on global warming. For years, the company has backed taxing carbon dioxide emissions, and Exxon scientists have published dozens of peer-reviewed studies, meaning they can be viewed by other scientists and the public.
“What we have understood from the outset — and something which over-the-top activists fail to acknowledge — is that climate change is an enormously complicated subject,” Kenneth Cohen, Exxon’s head spokesman wrote in a blog post. “The climate and mankind’s connection to it are among the most complex topics scientists have ever studied, with a seemingly endless number of variables to consider over an incredibly long timespan.”
Exxon has also worked with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since its inception in 1988.
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