Cheap airline tickets, made possible by favorable government tax treatment, “come at a high cost to the planet and its inhabitants,” the environmental group warned.
A study released Thursday by Greenpeace found that the policy decisions of European governments have made flying a significantly cheaper option than traveling by train, even though the former is far worse for the climate than the latter.
For its analysis, Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe compared air and rail fares for nine different days on 112 European travel routes.
“In the majority (79 out of 112) of routes analyzed, flights are less expensive than rail,” the group noted in its new study. “Rail trips are on average twice as expensive as flights, despite the fact that the overall climate impact of flying can be over 80 times worse than taking a train.”
“Why would anyone take the train from London to Barcelona and pay up to €384 when air tickets are available for the ridiculously low price of €12.99?” the group asked. (That’s roughly $427 for a rail trip versus $14 to fly.)
Greenpeace attributed the often substantial differences in price to “unfair tax” policies that “favor air travel over rail.” The group pointed out that “while airlines pay neither kerosene tax nor [a value-added tax] on international flights and benefit from subsidies paid with taxpayers’ money, railways have to pay energy taxes, VAT, and high rail tolls in most countries.”
“For the planet and people’s sake, politicians must act to turn this situation around.”
Lorelei Limousin, a senior climate campaigner with Greenpeace E.U., said Thursday that “airlines benefit from outrageous fiscal advantages.”
“Planes pollute far more than trains, so why are people being encouraged to fly?” Limousin continued. “Low-cost airlines, in particular, have exploited every loophole and trick in the book. €10 [$11] airline tickets are only possible because others, like workers and taxpayers, pay the true cost. For the planet and people’s sake, politicians must act to turn this situation around and make taking the train the more affordable option, or else we’re only going to see more and more heatwaves like the one currently wreaking total havoc in Spain, Italy, Greece, and elsewhere.”
Flying has been the fastest-growing source of transport emissions in the E.U. in recent years, and Greenpeace argued that European governments and institutions are effectively subsidizing the aviation industry’s planet-warming emissions “through giveaways to airlines and airports” while simultaneously “closing down railway stations and lines.”
Low-cost airlines in particular have benefited from government subsidies and less regulation. Greenpeace’s analysis shows that “incentives for new routes from an airport are mainly designed for low-cost carriers, which are typically flying to small airports near large airports, which are considered new destinations (Paris-Beauvais, Frankfurt-Hahn…).”
“Thanks to the outrageous subsidies that airlines benefit from, they can offer unreasonably low prices—low-cost airlines are at the forefront with their aggressive pricing strategies,” Greenpeace said. “But these cheap tickets come at a high cost to the planet and its inhabitants, including their employees, airport neighbors, customers, people affected by extreme weather events.”
To promote less polluting travel, Greenpeace urged European national governments to “introduce climate tickets, affordable and simple long-term tickets valid on all means of public transport in a country or a defined region.”
“Together with the E.U. institutions, they should also cooperate for the implementation of a cross-border climate ticket,” the group said in a statement. “Windfall profit taxes, the phaseout of airline subsidies, and a fair taxation system based on CO2 emissions would make revenues available for funding climate tickets while improving public transport networks.”
Gail Bradbrook, a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion.
As deadly temperature records are set daily, the silencing of those that would speak truth to power can be felt. And it’s chilling.
There has been a pattern in recent climate protector trials where defendants are told they don’t have a defence in law, that anything they want to say in their defence is inadmissible and irrelevant and that they can’t inform the jury of the jury’s long-established right to make decisions based on their conscience. Moreover, people are threatened with imprisonment, and sometimes even imprisoned, if they do.
The trial of Dr Gail Bradbrook
The long-postponed jury trial of Dr. Gail Bradbrook, cofounder of XR, for breaking a window at the UK’s Department for Transport – supposedly valued at £27.5k – in October 2019 [1] began sitting on Monday this week (17 July). [2]
On Tuesday Judge Martin Edmunds dismissed the jury and aborted the trial. He has now set a retrial for the week commencing 30 October, which is scheduled to last for four days instead of five. This means that the retrial is fortuitously set to take place during the fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Rebellion [3] on 31 October 2018 and Extinction Rebellion’s first major action. [4]
We are not allowed to give further details due to reporting restrictions which are now in place.
Before the trial Gail said: “I’m trying to protect the lives and the futures of my children, all the children in the world and the generations to come.”
Gail, a mother of two who holds a doctorate in molecular biophysics from the University of Manchester, potentially faces up to four years in jail if found guilty for the Department for Transport action, which aimed to get the government to take adequate and appropriate action on the climate and nature emergencies. She has pleaded not guilty to the charge of criminal damage arguing that while she did break the window, she did it as an act of conscientious protection – a concept not yet recognised in current law.
The silencing and imprisonment of climate protectors
The Conservative government’s legislative clampdown is placing severe limits on the right of protest [5] [6].
Furthermore, since February 2023, three climate protectors have been jailed for six to eight weeks – just for mentioning the words climate change or fuel poverty to a jury, when attempting to explain why they undertook their actions. [7] [8] [9]
Gail’s trial was postponed several times across four years to take account of various rulings, notably including the Colston statue case, which alongside other rulings rendered specific legal defences to be no longer valid, thus an excuse for the court systems to silence protestors. [10] [11]. There has been a pattern of jury acquittals in direct action cases, which have embarrassed the government and enraged certain sections of the press. [12]
“Juries must be allowed to have the evidence regarding current law, as well as the wider context,” added Gail. “On this basis, they may serve justice rather than power, by asserting their right to reach a verdict based on their conscience.
”It is now common in the trial of climate protectors for the judge to rule that defendants are not allowed to speak about their motivations in court, denying them the right to a fair trial, an absolute right under the Human Rights Act.”
Quotes
Actress Emma Thompson: “In the same way we honour the women who broke windows to gain the vote, so we will honour the people who break windows in order to gain real action in the face of deadly climate collapse.
“People who risk losing their freedom for the sake of other humans and for the protection of all future generations are not criminals but heroes.”
Cathy Eastburn, a supporter of XR, Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain, who has spent time in prison as a result of her nonviolent direct action to sound the alarm and instigate action on climate change: “Juries regularly acquit protectorsif we are able to explain our motivations and the context for our actions. The government and the courts have responded by eroding trial by jury – a highly valued central tenet of our legal system – by stealth. We are being silenced and no longer have the right to defend ourselves, nor to a fair trial. And if we stand up for ourselves against the dictates of the court, we are sent to jail.”
Kofi Mawuli Klu, Co-vice-chair, Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe: “The former colonies look up to the UK’s justice system regarding it as the gold standard. These ‘show trials’ of climate protectors are permanently damaging the reputation of the UK in the majority world. The UK must practise what it preaches, and preserve the right to a fair trial – as well as deliver on its climate change commitments.”
Gail Bradbrook and Extinction Rebellion
Gail Bradbrook co-founded Extinction Rebellion in 2018 after a period of research, preparation and network building.
A mother of two teenage boys, she holds a doctorate in molecular biophysics from the University of Manchester, alongside several prizes and awards for her undergraduate degree, including the Royal Society of Chemistry’s best chemist award and a Wellcome Scholarship. She was named by GQ as one of the most influential people in Britain and honoured in the BBC Woman’s Hour Power List 2020: Our Planet – celebrating UK women making a significant contribution to the health and sustainability of the environment.
After XR’s first rebellion in April 2019, the UK parliament declared a Climate and Environment Emergency, but the government has subsequently failed to act with the necessary urgency. The government is now making things worse by licensing new oil, coal and gas developments that are incompatible with a 1.5C world [13] [14]. XR is now a global movement using nonviolent civil disobedience to put pressure on institutions to act on the climate and nature emergencies. In April this year, XR UK joined forces with over 200 organisations to bring 100,000 people together outside the UK’s parliament across four days to demand an end to the fossil fuel era, implement emergency citizens assemblies and reparations. [15]
[4] 15 environmental protesters arrested at civil disobedience campaign in London https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/31/15-environmental-protesters-arrested-at-civil-disobedience-campaign-in-london
Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a decentralised, international and politically non-partisan movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency.
Donate | Support our work What Emergency? | Read about the true scale of the climate crisisAs deadly temperature records are set daily, the silencing of those that would speak truth to power can be felt. And it’s chilling. There has been a pattern in recent climate protector trials where defendants are told they don’t have a defence in law, that anything they want to say in their defence is inadmissible and irrelevant and that they can’t inform the jury of the jury’s long-established right to make decisions based on their conscience. Moreover, people are threatened with imprisonment, and sometimes even imprisoned, if they do. The trial of Dr Gail Bradbrook The long-postponed jury trial of Dr. Gail Bradbrook, cofounder of XR, for breaking a window at the UK’s Department for Transport – supposedly valued at £27.5k – in October 2019 [1] began sitting on Monday this week (17 July). [2] On Tuesday Judge Martin Edmunds dismissed the jury and aborted the trial. He has now set a retrial for the week commencing 30 October, which is scheduled to last for four days instead of five. This means that the retrial is fortuitously set to take place during the fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Rebellion [3] on 31 October 2018 and Extinction Rebellion’s first major action. [4] We are not allowed to give further details due to reporting restrictions which are now in place. Before the trial Gail said: “I’m trying to protect the lives and the futures of my children, all the children in the world and the generations to come.” Gail, a mother of two who holds a doctorate in molecular biophysics from the University of Manchester, potentially faces up to four years in jail if found guilty for the Department for Transport action, which aimed to get the government to take adequate and appropriate action on the climate and nature emergencies. She has pleaded not guilty to the charge of criminal damage arguing that while she did break the window, she did it as an act of conscientious protection – a concept not yet recognised in current law. The silencing and imprisonment of climate protectors The Conservative government’s legislative clampdown is placing severe limits on the right of protest [5] [6]. Furthermore, since February 2023, three climate protectors have been jailed for six to eight weeks – just for mentioning the words climate change or fuel poverty to a jury, when attempting to explain why they undertook their actions. [7] [8] [9] Gail’s trial was postponed several times across four years to take account of various rulings, notably including the Colston statue case, which alongside other rulings rendered specific legal defences to be no longer valid, thus an excuse for the court systems to silence protestors. [10] [11]. There has been a pattern of jury acquittals in direct action cases, which have embarrassed the government and enraged certain sections of the press. [12] “Juries must be allowed to have the evidence regarding current law, as well as the wider context,” added Gail. “On this basis, they may serve justice rather than power, by asserting their right to reach a verdict based on their conscience. ”It is now common in the trial of climate protectors for the judge to rule that defendants are not allowed to speak about their motivations in court, denying them the right to a fair trial, an absolute right under the Human Rights Act.” Quotes Actress Emma Thompson: “In the same way we honour the women who broke windows to gain the vote, so we will honour the people who break windows in order to gain real action in the face of deadly climate collapse. “People who risk losing their freedom for the sake of other humans and for the protection of all future generations are not criminals but heroes.” Cathy Eastburn, a supporter of XR, Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain, who has spent time in prison as a result of her nonviolent direct action to sound the alarm and instigate action on climate change: “Juries regularly acquit protectors if we are able to explain our motivations and the context for our actions. The government and the courts have responded by eroding trial by jury – a highly valued central tenet of our legal system – by stealth. We are being silenced and no longer have the right to defend ourselves, nor to a fair trial. And if we stand up for ourselves against the dictates of the court, we are sent to jail.” Kofi Mawuli Klu, Co-vice-chair, Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe: “The former colonies look up to the UK’s justice system regarding it as the gold standard. These ‘show trials’ of climate protectors are permanently damaging the reputation of the UK in the majority world. The UK must practise what it preaches, and preserve the right to a fair trial – as well as deliver on its climate change commitments.” Gail Bradbrook and Extinction Rebellion Gail Bradbrook co-founded Extinction Rebellion in 2018 after a period of research, preparation and network building. A mother of two teenage boys, she holds a doctorate in molecular biophysics from the University of Manchester, alongside several prizes and awards for her undergraduate degree, including the Royal Society of Chemistry’s best chemist award and a Wellcome Scholarship. She was named by GQ as one of the most influential people in Britain and honoured in the BBC Woman’s Hour Power List 2020: Our Planet – celebrating UK women making a significant contribution to the health and sustainability of the environment. After XR’s first rebellion in April 2019, the UK parliament declared a Climate and Environment Emergency, but the government has subsequently failed to act with the necessary urgency. The government is now making things worse by licensing new oil, coal and gas developments that are incompatible with a 1.5C world [13] [14]. XR is now a global movement using nonviolent civil disobedience to put pressure on institutions to act on the climate and nature emergencies. In April this year, XR UK joined forces with over 200 organisations to bring 100,000 people together outside the UK’s parliament across four days to demand an end to the fossil fuel era, implement emergency citizens assemblies and reparations. [15] Notes for editors: [1] Extinction Rebellion disrupt UKs Department for Transport – where is the plan to meet a net zero target and halt biodiversity loss? https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2019/10/15/extinction-rebellion-disrupt-uks-department-for-transport-where-is-the-plan-to-meet-a-net-zero-target-and-halt-biodiversity-loss/ [2] Extinction Rebellion protestor ‘caused £27,000 worth of damage to government building’ https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/17/extinction-rebellion-protester-27000-damage-government-building [3] Declaration of Rebellion, Extinction Rebellion 2018 https://extinctionrebellion.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/XR-A3-declaration-V1.pdf [4] 15 environmental protesters arrested at civil disobedience campaign in London https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/31/15-environmental-protesters-arrested-at-civil-disobedience-campaign-in-london [5] UN rights chief urges UK to reverse ‘troubling’ Public Order Bill https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/un-rights-chief-urges-uk-reverse-troubling-public-order-bill-2023-04-27/ [6] Liberty launches legal action against home secretary for overriding parliament on protest powers https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/liberty-launches-legal-action-against-home-secretary-for-overriding-parliament-on-protest-powers/ [7] Insulate Britain activist jailed for eight weeks for contempt of court https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/07/insulate-britain-activist-david-nixon-jailed-for-eight-weeks-for-contempt-of-court [8] Activists jailed for seven weeks for defying ban on mentioning climate crisis https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/activists-jailed-for-seven-weeks-for-defying-ban-on-mentioning-climate-crisis/ [9] Protesters must be allowed to explain motives in court https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/protesters-must-be-allowed-to-explain-motives-in-court-zhpg2g3gs [10] Extinction Rebellion co-founder’s trial delayed by Colston review https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-61154538 [11] Extinction Rebellion protester to face trial after Court of Appeal ruling https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-64044348 [12] The Stealth Undermining of Trial by Jury https://planb.earth/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-Stealth-Undermining-of-Trial-by-Jury.pdf [13] New fossil fuels ‘incompatible’ with 1.5C goal, comprehensive analysis finds https://www.carbonbrief.org/new-fossil-fuels-incompatible-with-1-5c-goal-comprehensive-analysis-finds/ [14] Lord Deben backs Labour’s plan to halt new North Sea oil and gas drilling https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jun/06/lord-deben-backs-labours-plan-to-halt-new-north-sea-oil-and-gas-drilling [15] The Big One: Our Collective Demand https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-big-one/collective-demand/ About Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a decentralised, international and politically non-partisan movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. Donate | Support our work What Emergency? | Read about the true scale of the climate crisis XR UK Local Groups | View a map of all local groups XR UK website | Find out more about XRUK XR Global website | Discover what’s going on in XR around the globe! Time has almost entirely run out to address the climate and ecological crisis which is upon us, including the sixth mass species extinction, global pollution, and increasingly rapid climate change. If urgent and radical action isn’t taken, we’re heading towards 4˚C warming, leading to societal collapse and mass loss of life. The younger generation, racially marginalised communities and the Global South are on the front-line. No-one will escape the devastating impacts. XR UK Local Groups | View a map of all local groups XR UK website | Find out more about XRUK XR Global website | Discover what’s going on in XR around the globe!
Time has almost entirely run out to address the climate and ecological crisis which is upon us, including the sixth mass species extinction, global pollution, and increasingly rapid climate change. If urgent and radical action isn’t taken, we’re heading towards 4˚C warming, leading to societal collapse and mass loss of life. The younger generation, racially marginalised communities and the Global South are on the front-line. No-one will escape the devastating impacts.
The new free market ‘taskforce’ is almost entirely made up of senior figures from US and UK think tanks who have been funded by fossil fuels, climate change deniers, and more.
Liz Truss was back in the headlines this week, when she appeared at the launch of a new lobby group called the Growth Commission on Wednesday.
Some commentators pointed out the irony of a prime minister who tanked the pound – and failed to outlast a lettuce – saying that her widely criticised mini budget “may pay off in the long term”.
Truss’s acolytes, on the other hand, lapped it up. Conservative MP Simon Clarke was even given a column in the Timesto talk up the Growth Commission.
But what is the Growth Commission? And, more importantly, who is funding it?
I decided to take a look. And guess what? The self-styled free market task force seems to be yet another dark money outfit in British politics – led by senior figures from US and UK free market think tanks who have been funded by fossil fuels, the Koch Brothers, climate change deniers, the tobacco industry and much more.
A spokesman for the commission told me that it is funded by donations from private individuals. It wouldn’t give any names.
You might expect that after the disaster of Truss’s short-lived free market experiment, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) would be keeping a low profile. But you’d be wrong.
The IEA is the oldest think tank in Britain, with a history of taking money from tobacco companies, big oil, and has received millions from foundations funded by US billionaires, some of which have been among the biggest sponsors of climate change denial.
The 13 ‘commissioners’ listed on the Growth Commission website – Truss is not one of them – include two IEA veterans: Truss’s former advisor Shanker Singham, and IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop.
The Growth Commission describes Singham as “one of the world’s leading international trade experts”. (Some trade experts have disagreed.)
What is indisputable is that Singham is among the most active lobbyists on the free market right in Britain. In recent years, Singham has worked for Legatum, then the IEA, earning rebukes from the Charity Commission for his Brexit trade papers at both Legatum and the IEA.
Singham also runs his own lobbying firm called Competere. Competere doesn’t list its clients, but it has had over a dozen meetings with government ministers in less than two years.
I have sent Freedom of Information requests about many of Competere’s meetings, and I am still waiting for information. (Full disclosure: Singham previously stepped down as an advisor to then International Trade secretary Liam Fox in 2018 after I revealed he had also taken a job with a lobbying outfit.)
‘Ground Zero for Deregulation’
Almost a quarter of the Growth Commission is made up staff from the Mercatus Center, a right wing think tank operating out of George Mason University that has been described as “ground zero for deregulation policy in Washington”.
The chairman of the Mercatus Center, Tyler Cowen, and Mercatus Centre fellows Alden Abbott and Christine McDaniel are all listed on the Growth Commission.
Founded in 1978 by a former vice-president of Koch Industries – a serial funder of climate science denial – Mercatus has been particularly active in pushing for environmental deregulation.
Mercatus has previously suggested that climate change is “beneficial” and “making humans better off” and recommended “work to facilitate movement of people from areas likely to be harmed by climate change” instead of lowering emissions.
Another Growth Commissioner, Ewen Stewart, is director of Global Britain, a Eurosceptic think tank co-founded by former UKIP leader Malcolm (Lord) Pearson.
Stewart’s co-director at Global British, former Scottish Tory Member of Scottish Parliament Brian Montieth, was behind a slew of dark money funded Facebook ads in the run-up to the 2021 Scottish parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, commissioner Stephen J. Entin comes from the US-based Tax Foundation, which has been heavily bankrolled by the Koch Brothers, who also heavily funded influential Washington right wing think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, and Americans for Prosperity.
‘Victim of a Political Conspiracy’
Truss is a big fan of US conservative think tanks: in April, she gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington in which she praised Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher and portrayed herself as a victim of a political conspiracy.
I asked the Growth Commission who its funders were and was told: “Commissioners serve voluntarily, with travel expenses and costs for auxiliary support like report printing covered by the Growth Initiative Ltd, which receives donations from private individuals.”
The Growth Commission would not say what private donations it had received, but it did correct its website after I asked for evidence for the claim that commissioner Srinivasa Rangan currently held a position at Harvard. (He had previously been attached to the university.)
Rangan is currently a professor at Babson College, a private business school near Boston where Shanker Singham was previously based. Singham led a project that aimed to create low-tax, privatised ‘enterprise cities’ across the globe.
The Growth Commission has said that rather than outlining policy suggestions it will focus on analysis around ‘large scale fiscal events’.
Presumably this will include climate change. Truss has long been a firm friend of the fossil fuel industry. Her Tory leadership campaign took £100,000 from the wife of a former BP executive. She has backed fracking (and been backed by fracking interests), and more. (George Monbiot has an excellent run through of Truss’s environmental positions here.)
Wonder what position the Growth Commission will take on climate?
This article was originally published on Peter Geoghegan’s Substack, Democracy for Sale.
Just Stop Oil supporters are disrupting roads in central London during their thirteenth week of continuous resistance against new oil, gas and coal.
Throughout the morning, starting from 9am, 132 supporters began marching in nine groups around West, East London and South London. This morning’s marches have been eventful. On Cromwell Road, a coach was seen driving into the march, whilst in Elephant and Castle, a march was kettled by a group of counter-protestors wearing t-shirts emblazoned with ‘Just Stop Pissing Everyone Off’. Polite discourse about the necessity for culturally disruptive action ensued, as the Just Stop Oil supporters sat and gave personal testimonies whilst encircled.
One Just Stop Oil supporter addressed the counter-protestors, who applauded her as she spoke:
“I’d like to see how long you are willing to stand there, because this is great for us, we’re having conversations and I think it’s been so beneficial this morning being able to meet with some of you lovely people and have these conversations with you, and for us to find out why we’re here and why you’re here, because believe me we are the ordinary people and we have the power. The only thing that needs to happen now is we need to connect the dots and join together.”
After some discussion the anti-Just Stop Oil protestors left cordially, and the march proceeded on the road.
Activists targeted Policy Exchange after openDemocracy revealed it received Big Oil funding and helped draft law
Protesters said they targeted the think tank because of its Big Oil funding. | Just Stop Oil
Just Stop Oil activists have targeted a think tank that helped draft “draconian” new laws cracking down on climate protesters.
Two members of the direct action group threw orange paint on the headquarters of Policy Exchange, a right-wing think tank that the prime minister last month credited with helping draft a controversial bill that handed new anti-protest powers to police.
The protesters said they took action against Policy Exchange after openDemocracy revealed the think tank secretly received funding from oil giant ExxonMobil prior to recommending restrictions on climate protests.
One of the protesters, Ella Ward, 20, an environmental science student from Birmingham, said: “We have painted the Policy Exchange because they have been instrumental in implementing laws to restrict climate protesters.
“The prime minister praised Policy Exchange for their draconian and anti-democratic lobbying. They criminalise peaceful protesters for exercising their right to march for a liveable future. Meanwhile, the criminals in Parliament and in board rooms are getting away with murder.
“Policy Exchange received thousands of pounds from fossil fuel companies, that is unacceptable.”
Although Policy Exchange does not declare its donors, openDemocracy found ExxonMobil Corporation donated $30,000 to its American fundraising arm in 2017.
Two years later, a report by the influential think tank titled ‘Extremism Rebellion’ said the government should implement new laws to target environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion (XR).
In June, Sunak confirmed at the think tank’s summer party that its report “helped us draft” what became the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The prime minister worked at Policy Exchange before becoming an MP, and some of its supporters also donated to his leadership campaign.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which has been condemned by civil rights groups, gave police new powers to restrict the duration and noise level of static protests, or shut them down if they cause a “serious disruption”.
Several leading UK oil and energy companies, including the industry lobby group Energy UK, have also given donations to Policy Exchange to sponsor events at the Conservative Party’s annual conferences.
