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05/29/2024 | Press release | Archived content

Press Release: OpenSecrets Unveils New Tool Exposing Influences Shaping Energy and Environmental Policy

An oil refinery at sunset with smoke coming out of the chimneys (Image via Canva)

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 29, 2024 — OpenSecrets unveils its latest transparency tool: the Climate Issue Profile. This online resource exposes the financial forces shaping energy and environmental policy, providing crucial insights into the influences driving America’s climate agenda.

In the race to decarbonize the economy and meet Paris Agreement targets, the Climate Issue Profile reveals the significant investments made by fossil fuel interests to block emissions-reducing policies while positioning themselves for a transition to clean energy. These interests continue to wield considerable influence, perpetuating a longstanding battle between environmental advocates and the fossil fuel industry.

Environmental groups and the alternative energy sector have become increasingly powerful in their own right but are routinely outspent by oil and gas interests. Under the Biden administration, oil and gas interests are more politically active than ever, spending millions to influence federal policy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

The oil and gas industry typically outspends environmental interest groups on federal lobbying and campaign contributions.

According to OpenSecrets’ analysis of federal lobbying data from 1998 to 2023, the oil and gas industry is the sixth highest-spending industry overall.

Oil and gas industry contributions are directed overwhelmingly towards Republicans and conservative groups that tend to support fossil fuel development.

Groups like the American Petroleum Institute and the Koch-connected Americans for Prosperity have taken up the mantle of protecting the oil and gas industry against international pressure to scale back fossil fuel development.

When it comes to federal lobbying spending, the oil and gas industry routinely dwarfs environmental interests.

The $2.8 billion in federal lobbying spending by the oil and gas industry from 1998 to 2023 dwarfs the roughly $430 million spent by environmental interest groups over the same period.

“The Climate Issue Profile empowers citizens to hold policymakers, interest groups, and industry stakeholders accountable,” said OpenSecrets Director of Research and Strategy Sarah Bryner. By exposing the financial interests driving energy and environmental policy, we foster transparency and inform public discourse on one of the most pressing challenges of our time.”

To explore the Climate Lobbying Profile and gain valuable insights into the influence shaping energy and climate policy, visit OpenSecrets.org and navigate to the Climate Issue Profile.

About OpenSecrets

Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, OpenSecrets is the nation’s premier research group tracking and reporting on money in U.S. politics and its impact on elections and public policy. Created in 2021 by the merger of the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in Politics, OpenSecrets’ mission is to track the flow of money in American politics and provide the data and analysis to strengthen democracy. Our vision is for Americans to use this knowledge to create a more vibrant, representative and accountable democracy.

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Press Release: OpenSecrets Unveils New Tool Exposing Influences Shaping Energy and Environmental Policy

By OpenSecrets Staff May 29, 2024
An oil refinery at sunset with smoke coming out of the chimneys (Image via Canva)

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 29, 2024 — OpenSecrets unveils its latest transparency tool: the Climate Issue Profile. This online resource exposes the financial forces shaping energy and environmental policy, providing crucial insights into the influences driving America’s climate agenda.

In the race to decarbonize the economy and meet Paris Agreement targets, the Climate Issue Profile reveals the significant investments made by fossil fuel interests to block emissions-reducing policies while positioning themselves for a transition to clean energy. These interests continue to wield considerable influence, perpetuating a longstanding battle between environmental advocates and the fossil fuel industry.

Environmental groups and the alternative energy sector have become increasingly powerful in their own right but are routinely outspent by oil and gas interests. Under the Biden administration, oil and gas interests are more politically active than ever, spending millions to influence federal policy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

The oil and gas industry typically outspends environmental interest groups on federal lobbying and campaign contributions.

According to OpenSecrets’ analysis of federal lobbying data from 1998 to 2023, the oil and gas industry is the sixth highest-spending industry overall.

Oil and gas industry contributions are directed overwhelmingly towards Republicans and conservative groups that tend to support fossil fuel development.

Groups like the American Petroleum Institute and the Koch-connected Americans for Prosperity have taken up the mantle of protecting the oil and gas industry against international pressure to scale back fossil fuel development.

When it comes to federal lobbying spending, the oil and gas industry routinely dwarfs environmental interests.

The $2.8 billion in federal lobbying spending by the oil and gas industry from 1998 to 2023 dwarfs the roughly $430 million spent by environmental interest groups over the same period.

“The Climate Issue Profile empowers citizens to hold policymakers, interest groups, and industry stakeholders accountable,” said OpenSecrets Director of Research and Strategy Sarah Bryner. By exposing the financial interests driving energy and environmental policy, we foster transparency and inform public discourse on one of the most pressing challenges of our time.”

To explore the Climate Lobbying Profile and gain valuable insights into the influence shaping energy and climate policy, visit OpenSecrets.org and navigate to the Climate Issue Profile.

About OpenSecrets

Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, OpenSecrets is the nation’s premier research group tracking and reporting on money in U.S. politics and its impact on elections and public policy. Created in 2021 by the merger of the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in Politics, OpenSecrets’ mission is to track the flow of money in American politics and provide the data and analysis to strengthen democracy. Our vision is for Americans to use this knowledge to create a more vibrant, representative and accountable democracy.

This article was originally published by OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. View the original article.

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OpenSecrets published this content on May 29, 2024, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 27, 2026 at 14:43 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]