Message from the Editor

This week it’s been all about the COP26 climate summit — and our team is on the ground in Glasgow to bring you the latest on what’s happening.

As Rich Collette-White reports, a total 11 climate science deniers have secured passes to the UN COP26 climate summit taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, including Myron Ebell, the head of former US President Donald Trump’s transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency. CFACT and the Heartland Institute are hosting an alternative side event — but their influence seems to be waning. As one climate expert said: “these days, almost no-one cares.”Read more here.

Meanwhile, not only has Brazil sent the largest delegation to the climate summit, but the delegation — responsible for representing the country’s interests — includes representatives from two major Brazilian meat companies linked to Amazon deforestation. At the same time, Brazil joined over 100 countries to announce a “landmark” pledge to protect forests, promising to end deforestation by 2030. Rachel Sherrington reports.

And, after navigating the “blue zone” where countries have set up large corporate-style pavilions, DeSmog found that just two of the 35 stalls lauding countries’ green credentials at the COP26 UN climate summit mention the need to cut fossil fuel production — the chief cause of the carbon emissions driving climate change. Read more here.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected].
Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle

Executive Director

P.S. Readers like you make it possible for DeSmog to hold accountable powerful people in industry and government. Even a $10 or $20 donation helps support DeSmog’s investigative journalism.

These 11 Climate Science Deniers are Attending the COP26 Climate Summit

— By Rich Collett-White (4 min. read) —

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND — A total 11 climate science deniers have secured passes to the UN COP26 climate summit taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, including Myron Ebell, the head of former US President Donald Trump’s transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency.

The president of the notorious Heartland Institute, which recently held a rival conference in Las Vegas ahead of the COP26 conference, and the head of policy at the UK’s principal climate science denial group are also among those who were given badges.

Brazil Climate Delegation Includes Meat Giants Linked to Deforestation, Despite Country’s Pledge to Protect Forests

— By Rachel Sherrington (3 min. read) —

Brazil joined over 100 countries to announce a “landmark” pledge to protect forests on Tuesday at the climate conference, promising to end deforestation by 2030.

But a list released by COP26 organisers this week shows that not only is Brazil sending the largest delegation to the climate summit, but the delegation — responsible for representing the country’s interests — includes powerful agribusiness connections as well as other major polluters.

Just Two Countries Mention Need to Cut Fossil Fuel Production at COP26 ‘Greenwashing’ Stands​

— By Adam Barnett and Rich Collett-White (6 min. read)—

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – Only two of the 35 stalls lauding countries’ green credentials at the COP26 UN climate summit mention the need to cut fossil fuel production — the chief cause of the carbon emissions driving climate change.

The summit’s official “blue zone” includes large corporate-style pavilions run by some of the world’s leading producers of oil, gas, and coal, including the United States, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, and Qatar. They highlight the countries’ environmental efforts while failing to mention their massive and ongoing trade in fossil fuels.

Mapped: The Rapid Rise of Voluntary Carbon Markets

— By Ashley Lampard (12 min. read)—

Today’s eco-conscious consumer is no stranger to net zero pledges. There are “net zero” pensions, “net zero” fuels, even “net zero” mobile networks.

Thousands of companies have hitched themselves to the carbon-neutral bandwagon, from fossil fuel producers like BP and Shell, to other household names including United Airlines, Dell, Burger King, and Vodafone. Some companies say they’ll decarbonise by 2040, others as early as 2022.

Part 2: The Dirty Dozen Documents of Big Oil’s Secret Climate Knowledge

— ByPaul D. Thacker (13 min. read)—

By the late 1970s, the petroleum industry had spent about two decades collecting information from their own scientists and outside experts and knew that burning fossil fuels would create catastrophic climate change. In the minds of the fossil fuel executives, this point must have been hammered home when federal scientists published a report on carbon dioxide and climate change in 1979. That report announced, “We now have incontrovertible evidence that the atmosphere is indeed changing and that we ourselves contribute to that change.”

And how were humans causing this change? “Man’s use of fossil fuels and exploitation of the land,” federal scientists concluded.

Italy’s First Climate Lawsuit Seeks Bold Emissions Target in Effort to Protect the Planet and Human Rights

— ByStella Levantesi (7 min. read) —

Martina Comparelli’s pollen allergies have been getting worse. Sometimes it’s so bad that she has to spend whole afternoons in bed with her windows closed. As the planet heats up, allergy seasons are getting longer and the climate crisis is “violating” her “right to health” said Comparelli, a climate activist in her 20s with Fridays for Future Italy.

Above all, though, Comparelli is afraid. She is afraid that when her parents are older, they will be subjected to the tremendous heat waves climate scientists say are already becoming more common. She is afraid for her own future. And her country isn’t doing anything to protect them. That is why Comparelli is suing.

‘Global warming is not a problem’ says Net Zero Watch Board Member Lord Lawson During COP26

— ByAdam Barnett (3 min. read) —

A board member of a new MP-backed ‘Net Zero Watch’ campaign group has said today that “global warming is not a problem”, defended burning fossil fuels, and said carbon dioxide’s “principal effect” is the growth of plants.

Net Zero Watch (NZW), which launched last month, presents itself as a reasonable campaign to scrutinise the impact and cost of the UK government’s net zero policies. The group has been quoted in the media and retweeted by prominent anti-net zero MPs Steve Baker and Craig Mackinlay.

Energy Ministers To Mingle With CEOs of High-Carbon Companies at COP26 Business Dinner

— ByPhoebe Cooke (3 min. read) —

UK energy ministers attending the COP26 climate summit will tonight socialise with the CEOs of highly-polluting companies, including HSBC and Heathrow Airport.

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Scotland secretary Alister Jack are among the 600 expected attendees at the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) event in Glasgow, Politico reported earlier today.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Marc Morano

Marc Moranois the executive director and chief correspondent of ClimateDepot.com, a project of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT). Morano is also the Communications Director at CFACT, a conservative think-tank in Washington D.C. that has received funding from ExxonMobil and Chevron. Morano is attending this year’s COP26 conference. He is no stranger to controversy at these UN climate summits, having been ejected from the 2016 talks in Marrakech for taking part in an unauthorised demonstration during which he ripped up a copy of the Paris Agreement.

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.