At the latest round of U.N. climate talks, the U.S. government hosted a panel in which it featured speakers from coal corporation Peabody Energy. The topic? How the solution to climate change is more fossil fuels. Hundreds of activists brought the event to a screeching halt. Chanting and singing until they were thrown out, they left the panelists to speak to a mostly empty room.
Until recently, the fossil fuel industry’s meddling in international climate policy was largely taken as a given. But fierce opposition to corporate capture at this month’s climate talks show that the fossil fuel industry has no place left to hide.
Big Polluters blocking climate progress
For years, fossil fuel corporations and other Big Polluters that should be regulated by climate policy have interfered with the U.N. climate talks to undermine progress. They walk the halls of the talks, fund the talks themselves, and even sit on government delegations. Our report “Polluting Paris” shows how these corporations are trying to use Global North governments to stop the landmark Paris climate agreement from turning into effective action on the ground.
This was the first round of U.N. climate talks since Trump announced he would withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement . Despite refusing to fulfill the commitments it made under the Paris Agreement, the U.S. government showed up to the talks and tried to bully the rest of the world into lowering ambition and embracing the fossil fuel industry’s agenda.
Taking on Trump’s fossil fuel agenda
But Corporate Accountability and our allies unmasked the Trump administration as Big Polluters’ puppet — literally. Political cartoons we created with Pete Fallon use dark humor to expose what Trump and the U.S. government are really up to.
Not only that: More than a hundred thousand Corporate Accountability members and supporters called on the Trump administration to stop derailing the Paris Agreement through a petition. With our allies the Pacific Climate Warriors, we delivered the petitions directly to the U.S. delegation. Check out footage of the Pacific Climate Warriors speaking truth to power during the delivery.
On top of that, over a thousand people phoned the State Department demanding they stand down and stop pushing the fossil fuel industry’s deadly agenda. Staff at the State Department commented that they’d received hundreds of calls on the topic.
We also ensured that the Trump administration’s dirty agenda was in the headlines. Check out our interview on Democracy Now (our segment starts around 42:00) and our exclusive in The Guardian.
Moving U.S. elected officials to take on Trump’s climate denial
It’s all a great start towards holding the U.S. and Big Polluters accountable so we can move forward the climate solutions we all urgently need.
Now, we need to build even more pressure on the U.S. government to stop interfering with the Paris Agreement. And to do that we’re mobilizing elected officials all over the country to call on Trump and the State Department to stand down. Get involved right now by emailing [email protected].
Photo: Organizational ally Tetet Lauron of IBON International participates in a march ahead of the U.N. climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany.
