We’ve been warned about climate change for many decades. So what’s been stopping us from acting?! Well, in part, the lies of fossil fuel companies. These lies have taken many shapes: doubt; denial; delay and greenwashing. Now, three bodies of evidence show the shady reality of climate change misinformation.
New Global Witness analysis shows that government ministers met with fossil fuel companies 54 times between January and March.
London, August 1st, 2023 – Between January and March of this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and climate and energy ministers met with fossil fuel companies 54 times, on average more than once every two days, according to new Global Witness analysis of UK government data. This amounts to around 20 per cent of all lobbying meetings they held in that period. (1)
This analysis comes as the Times reports that Sunak will meet with fossil fuel bosses on Wednesday, just two days after announcing that the Government would grant 100 new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea.
Scientists and campaigners have denounced the Government’s plans to U-turn on its climate commitments and “max out” North Sea oil and gas. This would lock the country deeper into a fossil fuel dependency that has left the UK with the highest energy bills in Western Europe.
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(1) See Transparency International UK’s database on UK government lobbying, available at openaccess.transparency.org.uk.