One of the world's largest dirty energy companies used free-market think tanks and donations to shape public opinion about our planet's changing climate.
As DeSmog reported, ExxonMobil financially supported the Atlas Network from the 1990s into the early 2000s. Yet recently revealed correspondence between them highlighted a disturbing connection between the major American oil company and the nonprofit committed to the libertarian agenda.
ExxonMobil apparently used Atlas Network's widespread connections to reach global think tanks and advance its policies through grants.
Collaborations such as this delay global climate action and stunt environmental regulation that would benefit our rapidly overheating planet. Think tanks have been notorious for using corporate money to get politicians who are unfriendly to the environment into office.
The Exxon-Atlas relationship is an excellent example of how troubling it is when influential organizations refuse to acknowledge the climate crisis and mislead the public.
When advocacy groups and nonprofits accept money from dirty energy companies, an unsettling conflict of interest results.
Oil and gas companies are major contributors to global overheating and the resulting extreme weather events. They also have the financial power to shape narratives and promote diluted and biased climate information to the public.
Fortunately, under new leadership, the Atlas Network has shifted its focus from minimizing the impact of climate concerns. A spokesperson said it has not received oil and gas company funding for at least 15 years.
For media consumers and responsible citizens, it's crucial to recognize biased climate campaigns. Anti-climate action propaganda can hinder clean energy projects and sway public opinion against sustainable initiatives.
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Meanwhile, news outlets and media companies have a responsibility to report the research-based truth about our planet's changing climate so that people can make informed decisions about their environmental impacts.
"It is essential that congressmen, journalists, ambassadors, and other officials in the United States and overseas be made aware that global warming science is far from settled," Alejandro Chafuen, former president of the Atlas Network, wrote in 2000.
Current Atlas Network CEO Brad Lips stated, "I determined this should not be an area of focus for Atlas Network, as we want to work constructively with all our partners on our key priorities with no concern for where they land on questions of climate science."
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