The drawing card of one of Washington , DC ’s most influential foreign policy think tanks got caught shilling for an oil CEO on a major news site — by a correct - wing publishing that run hit piece on renewable energy . This sound like a Mad Lib , but it ’s 2023 , and anything is possible !
On Saturday , CNBC posted anop - edfrom Fred Kempe , the CEO of the Atlantic Council and a regular contributor to the website . Kempe has several decade of journalistic experience on hisresume , but since 2007 he has take the illustrious think storage tank , whichdescribes itselfas “ a nonpartisan organization that galvanize US global leadership and employment in partnership with allies and partners . ”
In the op - ed , originally called“Sultan Al Jaber is the idealistic person to lead the UN climate conference this year , ” Kempe lays out an disputation for oil and gas whale to be part of the climate answer . “ This could be the class fossil fuel producer and climate activists bury their hatchets and connect hands to reduce emissions and ensure our planet ’s future , ” Kempe ’s op - ed set about ; he goes on to extol natural gas ’s position as a “ bridgework fuel ” and claim that the “ climate community ” has make out “ the vim transition to renewables ca n’t be achieved without fossil fuels , so they must be made cleaner . ” ( I ’d love to encounter this “ climate community ” who is somehow overlooking the go up pot of scientific evidence that the mankind needs to ablactate off its fogy fuel addiction as chop-chop as potential . )
Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber speaks at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum last year.Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi (AP)
The column came on the heel ofstrong criticismfor Al Jaber ’s appointment as head of this yr ’s UN climate group discussion , known as COP28 , thanks to his position as the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company . mood activist claim that Al Jaber is a wildly inappropriate number to head what should be the preeminent international merging on clime issues . In reply , Kempe reason in his editorial that the CEO ’s “ rich background in both renewables and fossil fuel make him an ideal choice at a sentence when efforts to treat mood change have been far too slow , lacking the inclusivity to produce more transformative termination . ”
Turns out there was a footling bit more context to Kempe ’s support of Al Jaber than just impression in the idea that activists should work with fossil fuel society . On Tuesday , CNBC changed the title of the piece and sneak in a lengthy editor ’s note at the front of the chromatography column .
Publicdonor recordsposted to the Atlantic Council ’s internet site show that the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates donate more than $ 1 million to the establishment in 2021 , while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates afford between $ 100,000 and $ 250,000 . ( The bestower roll of the Atlantic Council are filled with some pretty interesting names : the Charles Koch Institute donated between $ 500,000 and $ 1 million , while oil companies Chevron , Cheniere Energy , Eni , BP , ExxonMobil , and Equinor have all given money — as have clime groups like the Clean Air Task Force , the European Climate Foundation , and the National Resources Defense Council . ) Al Jabar was thekeynote speakerat the Council ’s recent Global Energy Forum this calendar month .
We charge several motion to CNBC about the op - ed , including about who slacken off the consequence as well as the editorial cognitive process and any norms around checking for conflicts of pastime , but did not hear back as of pressure clock time .
A spokesperson from the Atlantic Council told Earther that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company had no input into what Kempe wrote in his op - erectile dysfunction . “ We have an intellectual independency and revealing incision in our editorial guideline that should have required disclosing the donor relationship , ” the spokesperson order . “ It had n’t been followed here , and we made change to secure that it was . We made a mistake in not divulge , contrary to our standards , and we restore it . ”
The oversight appears to have been noticed , by all places , by the Washington Free Beacon , a prominent correct - annex way out whose slogan is “ Covering the Enemies of Freedom the path the Mainstream Media Won’t . ”According to the Beacon , it sent questions about the potential conflicts of interest with the op - erectile dysfunction after it was published ; shortly after , CNBC added the editor ’s note .
The Free Beacon is not exactly a plaza for unbiassed word about climate modification , fossil fuels , or renewables . ( “ LOCK HER UP : These photo of Greta Thunberg Being transport by by German Police Will clear up Your Day,”reads a late newspaper headline , with the subhead “ The celebrity climate militant has yet to face justice for her criminal offence . ” ) The website itself isbankrolled by Fred Singer , a venture capitalist and top GOP donor who is anactive investor in petroleum and gas(and who haspublicly blamed the UAE in the pastfor the falling cost of oil ) . The electrical outlet has been keeping a close eye on the Atlantic Council , publishinga salmagundi of pieceson support sources for the think tank in recent months .
constitute in 1961 , the Atlantic Council is one of the most prominent foreign policy think army tank in Washington , with connections to governments and richly - powered individuals worldwide . Over the past few long time , the establishment has go through some public crises as it struggles with conflict of interests colligate to its support . Last summer , itparted wayswith a Koch - fund initiative set up at the Council after arare falling outamong members over what some saw as Koch influence on the Council ’s political direction .
This whole mess illustrates the complexity of cutting the energy transition along traditional political line . A think army tank that necessitate money from fossil oil companies , tech giants , and environmental mathematical group likewise versus a conservative “ news program ” internet site funded by an oil - invest speculation capitalist — gripping stuff . All over the world , the lines of power are being redrawn around energy policy , and sales outlet like CNBC need to keep up so as to remain journalistically honest .
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