Play For decades, the fossil fuel industry has been able to slow or prevent policies to reduce climate pollution by laundering false claims and junk science through allied think tanks and media outlets. (Adobe Stock) As Coloradans deal with record-breaking heat, wildfires, and prolonged drought – linked to a changing climate – a new report shows how American taxpayers are subsidizing disinformation about climate change . Co-author Chuck Collins is co-founder of the Climate Accountability Research Project. He said people with ties to the fossil fuel industry are bankrolling groups trying to block action on climate change through tax-deductible donations. “There are 137 organizations that are actively involved in promoting climate disinformation,” said Collins, “challenging the science, sowing doubt, blocking alternatives. Their goal is to run out the clock and keep extracting their profits.” Between 2020 and 2022, people gave these organizations nearly $6 billion in tax-deductible donations – which is entirely legal under the U.S. tax code . The U.S. Supreme Court has also ruled that financial contributions deserve the same First Amendment protections as speech, at least in political campaigns. Collins argued that because wealthy donors are essentially pushing the burden of building and maintaining roads, schools, and other essential services, onto other taxpayers – the public deserves to know who they are. “They’re opting out of paying their taxes,” said Collins. “So, the rest of us do have a public interest in knowing how that money is being used. And whether it’s being used in a way that influences Congress, and influences public policy, and takes us down a road that we may not want to go down.” Many donors are now listed online at ClimateCriminals.org , which also features a countdown to a deadline set in Paris to cut fossil fuel emissions in order to […]
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