Fossil fuel lobbyists acting as 'double agents' at institutions fighting against climate change: report

Editor's note: The spelling of Milman was corrected.

Fossil fuel lobbyists are acting as "double agents" by also working for institutions that support progressive causes, including but not limited to fighting climate change, The Guardian's Oliver Milman exclusively reported on Wednesday.

Milman revealed that those individuals are at the "same time representing hundreds of liberal-run cities, universities, technology companies, and environmental groups" and that they "are also employed by a vast sweep of institutions, ranging from the city governments of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia; tech giants such as Apple and Google; more than 150 universities; some of the country's leading environmental groups – and even ski resorts seeing their snow melted by global heating."

Milman gathered his information from FMinus.org, a newly released database that catalogued "more than 1,500 state-level lobbyists who are playing both sides of the climate crisis by working for the fossil fuel industry at the same time they are working for people, communities, schools, businesses, nonprofit organizations and others being harmed by the crisis."

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FMinus.org founder James Browning told Milman that "many of these cities and counties face severe costs from climate change and yet elected officials are selling their residents out. It's extraordinary."

Milman further noted that "the vast scale of the use of fossil fuel lobbyists by organizations that advocate for climate action underlines the deeply embedded influence of oil, gas, and coal interests, according to Timmons Roberts, an environmental sociologist at Brown University."

Milman quoted Roberts as having said that "the fossil fuel industry is very good at getting what it wants because they get the lobbyists best at playing the game" and that "they have the best staff, huge legal departments, and the ability to funnel dark money to lobbying and influence channels."

Roberts also stressed that FMinus.org "really makes it apparent that when you hire these insider lobbyists, you are basically working with double agents. They are guns for hire. The information you share with them is probably going to the opposition.”

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Milman's full exposé continues at this link.