A new Greenpeace reportfinds that the Koch Brothers, via their PAC, contributed $2.51 million since the beginning of the 2006 election cycle to lawmakers’ campaigns, more than any other oil and gas industry PAC. At the same time, the report says that “Koch Industries, Koch employees, and Koch family members” spent $37.9 million lobbying on energy issues. Koch associates came in third in terms of energy lobbying behind ExxonMobil and Chevron Corporation. The report also finds more than 40 instances of Koch Industries donating to groups that have in the past opposed climate legislation.
Some examples from the report:
- “More than $5 million to Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP) for its nationwide ‘Hot Air Tour’ campaign to spread misinformation about climate science and opposing clean energy and climate legislation.”
- “$365,000 to Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE) which advocates against taking action on climate change because warming is ‘inevitable’ and expensive to address.”
- “$360,000 to Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRIPP) which supported and funded An Inconvenient Truth…or Convenient Fiction, a film attacking the science of global warming and intended as a rebuttal to former Vice-President Al Gore’s documentary. PRIPP also threatened to sue the US Government for listing the polar bear as an endangered species.”
*Update: It turns out, this report came out in March. But it’s still worth taking a look at, given all the talk about the Koch brothers. *