Greenhouse Mafia
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Greenhouse Mafia is the title of a program aired by the ABC on the February 13, 2006 episode of its weekly documentary program Four Corners.[1]
The program was made by Liberal Party member Guy Pearse and Four Corners host Janine Cohen, although some other scientists concerned about the control of the fossil fuel lobby also participated. Greenhouse Mafia was based on a thesis Pearse did at Australian National University between 1999 and 2005, dealing with business groups with a vested interest in preventing policies designed to combat climate change. Greenhouse Mafia documents the power lobby groups representing the coal, car, oil, and aluminium have wielded to prevent Australia from reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, which were already the highest per capita in the world in 1990 and have increased since then by more than any other country in the OECD since that year.
According to the research of Pearse, who was speechwriter to Environment Minister Robert Hill between 1997 and 2001, fossil fuel lobby groups have been routinely able to gain access to what should be confidential information concerning government policy on energy and transport. Pearse's study in previous years showed that a "revolving door" exists between influential energy lobby groups like the Australian Coal Association, the Australian Aluminium Council, the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the Australian Petroleum and Exploration Association, the Minerals Council of Australia and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries on one hand, and bureaucratic positions in government departments in Australia on ther other.
The consequence is that those within groups lobbying for unrestricted greenhouse gas emissions are able to gain access to government ministers. Pearse showed that this influence is entrenched to such an extent that fossil fuel industry lobby groups have actually been writing Australia's greenhouse policy at least since the Kyoto Protocol in 1998 and probably even before Howard became Prime Minister. The result has been that even when "reputable" scientists are well aware of the damage caused by anthropoegenic greenhouse gas emissions, Australia has been unwilling and unable to set stiff targets even with the highest and most rapidly growing per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
The program also contained considerable evidence that the CSIRO had forced redundancy from a number of Australia's most eminent scientists because they had spoken unfavourably of government policies on climate change since Howard came to power. Several CSIRO scientists said that the censorship of their views in recent years was completely unlike anything they had experienced in over thirty years working for the organisation.
A talk given on February 20, 2006 by Clive Hamilton, the director of the Australia Institute and one of Guy Pearse's PhD supervisors, elaborated more on the Greenhouse Mafia. The talk listed a "dirty dozen", a group of climate change skeptics with considerable influence over Australian policy. The dirty dozen includes: Hugh Morgan, John Eyles, Ron Knapp, Alan Oxley, Peter Walsh, Meg McDonald, Barry Jones, Chris Mitchell, Ian Macfarlane, Alan Moran, Malcolm Broomhead, and John Howard. The talk states that greenhouse mafia is predominantly from the coal, oil, cement, aluminium, mining and electricity industries [2]
On May 6, 2004 a group called the Lower Emissions Technology Advisory Group (LETAG) met with John Howard and representatives of the Australian government. LETAG consists of the leaders of some fossil fuel companies and energy intensive industries, including Rio Tinto, Edison Mission Energy, BHP Billiton, Alcoa and Orica. Leaked minutes from a meeting between leaders of energy intensive industries and the Australian government describe how both groups are worried that mandatory renewable energy targets were working too well and were "market skewed" towards wind power [3].
[edit] Media mentions
- Geoffrey Barker, journalist and author, made mention of the four corners Greenhouse Mafia program in relation to a discussion on the politicisation of the Australian public service.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Transcript of Janine Cohen's report "The Greenhouse Mafia". 4 Corners (2006-02-13). Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ The Dirty Politics of Climate Change. Australia Institute (2006-02-20). Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Minutes of a meeting of the Low Emissions Technology Advisory Group (LETAG) with the Australian Government (2004-05-06). Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Canberra: Politicisation of the public service. Late Night Live. Retrieved on February 14, 2007.
[edit] External links
- The Greenhouse Mafia, official Four Corners page (transcript)
- "Silencing the critics" (The Age) and "The repression of the bleeding hearts" (Sydney Morning Herald). Articles by Sarah Maddison and Clive Hamilton in Fairfax press newspapers appearing on January 27, 2007.
- "Campaign to discredit wind blows to NSW" and "It's an ill wind ...", May 19, 2006. Two Sydney Morning Herald articles about the involvement by climate change deniers and the nuclear industry in campaigns to discredit wind power.
