10.28.2019

Climate Crisis Committee To Hold Hearing On Dark Money And Climate Change

WASHINGTON – Tomorrow, October 29 at 2:30 p.m. ET on Capitol Hill, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) will lead a hearing of Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis entitled, “Dark Money and Barriers to Climate Action.” The special committee, which is chaired by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and is affiliated with the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, will learn from experts at top universities and government watchdog groups about anonymous funding of climate obstruction and what can be done to fight it, including how congressional oversight could be used to uncover the ultimate sources of the hundreds of millions of dollars in anonymous donations that flow to front groups, outside political spending groups, and trade associations to obstruct climate action.

Witnesses:

Justin Farrell, Professor, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies - Prepared Testimony
Naomi Oreskes, Professor, Harvard University - Prepared Testimony
Morton Rosenberg, Congressional Scholar, Project on Government Oversight, formerly of the Congressional Research Service- Prepared Testimony
Dylan Tanner, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Influence Map- Prepared Testimony

Hearing Details:

Tuesday, October 29, 2019
2:30 p.m. ET
U.S. Capitol
Senate Visitors Center, Room 200/201

For decades, giant corporations – from Big Tobacco to lead paint manufacturers to Big Oil – have used secret channels of influence to block action to protect the public from the harms caused by their products. Scientists, activists, and watchdog groups have tracked those corporate misinformation campaigns, including how anonymous funding of corporate front groups and trade associations can be exposed and neutralized. Witnesses at Tuesday’s hearing will discuss the latest research on dark money climate obstruction and what lessons can be learned from past efforts to combat corporate deceit.

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