Press release from Corporate Europe Observatory | read press release online
[1]
PRESS RELEASE FROM
CORPORATE EUROPE OBSERVATORY
BRUSSELS, BIG ENERGY, & REVOLVING DOORS: A HOTHOUSE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
Conflicts of interest in the field of energy and climate policy are being
ignored by EU institutions, allowing some of the world's biggest polluters
to potentially benefit from the know-how and contact books of top Brussels
insiders, according to a new report.
"Brussels, big energy, and revolving doors: a hothouse for climate change"
[2] by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) examines cases of EU public
servants and elected representatives who have gone through the revolving
door to corporate jobs with links to the fossil fuels industry or those who
represent them. The report also explores cases where officials and special
advisers have joined the Commission from roles in major energy outfits.
Five new cases are highlighted which show how blasé the institutions are
about the risk of corporate capture of EU energy policy by Big Energy. In
total the report highlights 16 problematic revolving door moves by former
MEPs, a former Commissioner, special advisers and officials with close ties
to EU climate and energy policy.
Major industry players such as the world's biggest oil and gas company
Saudi Aramco, Europe's oldest energy firm Edison, and lobby consultancy
FleishmanHillard are linked to these latest revolving door cases.
> "The close ties between Big Energy and senior decision-makers,
> facilitated by the revolving door, are extremely worrying," says CEO
> campaigner Vicky Cann. "The fact that so many of these revolving door
> moves have been officially authorised shows the institutions' total lack
> of understanding of conflicts of interest and the risks generated by the
> revolving door. As the planet faces a looming catastrophic climate
> crisis, we need strict rules and a major change of culture to tackle the
> hothouse of energy industry lobbying, privileged access for polluters,
> and ever-spinning revolving doors that are so prevalent in key EU
> institutions."
Among the report's recommendations are calls for an overhaul of revolving
door rules at the EU and member state levels, new safeguards to prevent
conflicts of interest involving Commission special advisers, a two year
cooling-off period on taking paid lobby work for former MEPs, and a vastly
improved lobby transparency regime in Brussels.
5 KEY CLIMATE & ENERGY REVOLVING DOOR CASES
* The Commission official: MARCUS LIPPOLD [3] used to work at
ExxonMobil,
a company well-known for funding climate denial and blocking climate change
policies; then he went to work for DG Energy where he was responsible for
cooperation with OPEC. Now he is on sabbatical from the Commission and
working for Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil and gas company which is
owned by Saudi Arabia, a country which has been blocking action on climate
change for years.
* The MEP: CHRIS DAVIES MEP [4] championed carbon capture and storage
(CCS) while spending 15 years on the European Parliament's environment
committee, working closely with Big Energy interests to do so. Now he has
set up his own environmental lobby consultancy and is working with
FleishmanHillard, one of Brussels' biggest lobby firms.
* The commissioner: JOAQUÍN ALMUNIA [5] the former Barroso II
competition commissioner, has been a paid member of the 'scientific
committee' to produce the study entitled 'Building the Energy Union to Fuel
European Growth'. The report was written by a for-profit consultancy and
commissioned by (and likely funded by) Enel.
* The Commission special adviser: NATHALIE TOCCI [6] is the special
adviser to High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and
Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini but is
simultaneously on the board of "Europe's oldest energy company" Edison,
owned by French energy giant EDF.
* The member state official: MATTHEW HINDE [7] was Head of EU Strategy
at
the UK government's Department of Energy and Climate Change for the past
two years but has now joined the Brussels office of lobby firm
FleishmanHillard, one of the leading PR specialists in energy, whose
clients include Total, Shell, Statoil, ENI, SHV Energy, Exxon Mobil, BP
among others, to act as its Head of Energy Practice.
The report can be read here:
http://corporateeurope.org/revolving-doors/2015/11/brussels-big-energy-and-revolving-doors-hothouse-climate-change
[2]
See the annex
(http://corporateeurope.org/revolving-doors/2015/11/brussels-big-energy-and-revolving-doors-hothouse-climate-change#annex
[8]) for 11 additional climate and energy-related revolving doors cases.
Existe también en español:
http://corporateeurope.org/es/revolving-doors/2015/11/bruselas-las-grandes-empresas-energ-ticas-y-las-puertas-giratorias-un
[9]
Contact:
Vicky Cann: +44 7960 988096 +44 1494 864649 vi...@corporateeurope.org
19 November 2015
me...@corporateeurope.org
tel: + 32 2893 0930
Corporate Europe Observatory
Rue d'Edimbourg 26
Brussels Belgium
www.corporateeurope.org [10]
@corporateeurope [11] - facebook [12]
CORPORATE EUROPE OBSERVATORY (CEO) CHALLENGES THE INFLUENCE OF BIG BUSINESS
AND BUSINESS LOBBY GROUPS IN EU POLICY MAKING.
Corporate Europe Observatory
Rue d'Edimbourg 26, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 893 0930, e-mail: c...@corporateeurope.org
http://www.corporateeurope.org [13]
Not interested anymore? Click here [14] or send an e-mail
Links:
------
[1] http://media.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/view?reset=1&id=246
[2]
http://corporateeurope.org/revolving-doors/2015/11/brussels-big-energy-and-revolving-doors-hothouse-climate-change
[3]
http://corporateeurope.org/revolving-doors/2015/11/brussels-big-energy-and-revolving-doors-hothouse-climate-change?hash=vgGAMz4uECH3oAtjZMCY_YsbLfjO19WL82XPS6I-N0c#Lippold
[4]
http://corporateeurope.org/revolving-doors/2015/11/brussels-big-energy-and-revolving-doors-hothouse-climate-change?hash=vgGAMz4uECH3oAtjZMCY_YsbLfjO19WL82XPS6I-N0c#Davies
[5]
http://corporateeurope.org/revolving-doors/2015/11/brussels-big-energy-and-revolving-doors-hothouse-climate-change?hash=vgGAMz4uECH3oAtjZMCY_YsbLfjO19WL82XPS6I-N0c#Almunia
[6]
http://corporateeurope.org/revolving-doors/2015/11/brussels-big-energy-and-revolving-doors-hothouse-climate-change?hash=vgGAMz4uECH3oAtjZMCY_YsbLfjO19WL82XPS6I-N0c#Tocci
[7]
http://corporateeurope.org/revolving-doors/2015/11/brussels-big-energy-and-revolving-doors-hothouse-climate-change?hash=vgGAMz4uECH3oAtjZMCY_YsbLfjO19WL82XPS6I-N0c#Hinde
[8]
http://corporateeurope.org/revolving-doors/2015/11/brussels-big-energy-and-revolving-doors-hothouse-climate-change?hash=vgGAMz4uECH3oAtjZMCY_YsbLfjO19WL82XPS6I-N0c#annex
[9]
http://corporateeurope.org/es/revolving-doors/2015/11/bruselas-las-grandes-empresas-energ-ticas-y-las-puertas-giratorias-un
[10] http://www.corporateeurope.org
[11] https://twitter.com/corporateeurope
[12] https://www.facebook.com/CorporateEuropeObservatory
[13] http://www.corporateeurope.org/
[14]
http://media.corporateeurope.org/civicrm/mailing/optout?reset=1&jid=1035&qid=94746&h=822d4d68adf6b821
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