Message From the Editor

This week, researcher and writer Clare Carlile investigated McDonald’s lobbying against new laws meant to reduce packaging waste in the European Union. The new EU packaging law aims to tackle growth in packaging waste and single-use plastic.

But the fast-food giant is at the forefront of a campaign against such laws, in what has been described by some insiders as the largest-scale lobbying effort they have ever witnessed in the European Parliament. This has included funding studies, launching websites, and sponsoring articles attacking the bill.

Campaigners and academics accuse McDonald’s and other industry members of promoting scientifically dubious, cherry-picked evidence in opposition to the legislation. McDonald’s is responsible for over a billion kilos (that’s over 2 billion pounds) of packaging every year.

We also published a piece by investigative journalist Sara Sneath revealing how Sempra LNG lobbyists ghost wrote letters for elected Louisiana officials in support of a natural gas storage project awaiting federal approval. And then the officials sent off Sempra’s letters as their own in 2021.

Last fall, federal regulators greenlit the Hackberry gas storage project. “I’m just sick of them,” a retired Louisiana biologist said of the elected officials who submitted letters to FERC drafted by Sempra in support of the project.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter.

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Investigative journalism like this is made possible by readers like you. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image credit: lazy fri13th / Flickr, CC BY 2.0

McDonald's Leads Lobbying Offensive Against Laws to Reduce Packaging Waste in Europe

— By Clare Carlile (10 min. read) —

McDonald’s is at the forefront of a campaign against new laws to reduce packaging waste in the EU, in what has been described by some insiders as the largest-scale lobbying effort they have ever witnessed in the European Parliament.

The fast food chain, alongside a number packaging producers and trade associations, wrote to European policymakers at the end of April, demanding a pause to the legislation, which would champion reusable packaging in Europe.

Sempra LNG Lobbyists Ghost Wrote Louisiana Officials' Letters Supporting Gas Storage Project

— By Sara Sneath (5 min. read) —

In an effort to gain federal approval for a natural gas storage project in south Louisiana, Sempra LNG lobbyists crafted letters for Louisiana elected officials to send to federal regulators in support of the project.

Last fall, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) greenlit the Hackberry gas storage project, which involves converting underground domes constructed in the 1970s to mine for salt into storage space for up to 25.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Sempra LNG has been trying to build the project in Cameron Parish since 2006, when the company planned to store gas in the caverns from its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing later created a surplus in U.S. natural gas, which is primarily composed of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Four-Fifths of Board Members at America's Top Six Banks are Climate Conflicted

— By Rachel Sherrington (8 min. read) —

Four in five bank directors at the six largest banks in the U.S. have ties to polluting companies and organizations, including major fossil fuel companies, according to a new DeSmog analysis.

The research raises fresh concerns about the extent of anti-environmental influence inside some of the nation’s most powerful boardrooms at a time when campaigners are pushing the banks to enact stronger environmental policies at their annual shareholder meetings.

Italy's Eni Faces Lawsuit Alleging Early Knowledge of Climate Change

— By Stella Levantesi (9 min. read) —

Italian oil major Eni is facing the country’s first climate lawsuit, with environmental groups alleging the company used “greenwashing” to push for more fossil fuels despite knowing of the risks posed by burning its products since 1970.

Greenpeace Italy and Italian advocacy group ReCommon aim to build on a similar case targeting Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands to force Eni to slash its carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030.

Climate Crisis: Voices of Protection Event

— May 23, 2023 2pm EST —

With your support, DeSmog has reported for years on the harm caused by fossil fuel and petrochemical projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Now, we’d like to invite you to a special free online event we’re co-hosting with the Pocket Project on May 22 exploring the struggle to prevent new fossil gas projects in Louisiana and Texas.

We’ll be practicing a unique way of attending to the news in community called Global Social Witnessing (to learn more, click here). With Louisiana Bucket Brigade Director Anne Rolfes and our global investigations editor Matthew Green.

Hope to see you there!

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Energy In Depth

Energy In Depth (EID) is a program jointly launched by the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the “independent global business advisory firm” FTI Consulting to promote and defend unconventional gas development (fracking). PR Watch reported in 2012 the campaign was effectively a “PR operation for the industry’s multi-billion dollar financial interests in ‘unconventional’ drilling” of natural gas. DeSmog obtained a leaked memo in 2011 that revealed Energy In Depth “would not be possible without the early financial commitments” of major oil and gas interests including BP, Halliburton, Chevron, Shell, XTO Energy (now owned by ExxonMobil), and several other large oil and gas companies.
Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.