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Big energy firms get privileged access to top EU climate officals

Big energy has ‘privileged access’ to top EU climate officals, claim campaigners, Guardian, Arthur Neslen 28 May 15  A row has broken out over records showing almost all top two climate and energy officials’ lobby meetings were with fossil fuel and heavy industry companies  A row has broken out over claims that the vast majority of lobbyists met by the EU’s top two energy and climate officials have been from the fossil fuel sector, big energy firms and heavy industry, since they took office six months ago.

Calendar records show that 94% of the EU climate commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete’s meetings have been with business lobbyists, mostly representing the heavy industry and fossil fuels sectors. For the vice president for energy union, Maroš Šefčovič, the figure was 70%.

Sources close to Cañete say that in practice, he held five group meetings with NGOs – rather than the two listed in the calendar – and gave five group updates to civil society groups at last December’s UN climate summit in Peru, bringing the true figure closer to 83%. They say he has championed climate action in informal dialogues, and improved upon the access record of his predecessor.

But Pascoe Sabido, a campaigner for Corporate Europe Observatory, complained of undue corporate influence.

“These lists of meetings show unrivalled privileged access for the most polluting industries, while public interest groups have barely featured,” he told the Guardian. “How the EU acts over the next few years both internationally and regionally will be key in deciding whether we avoid catastrophic climate change. But on this evidence, Cañete and co are too close to the fossil fuel industry to stop us careering head-first into a climate disaster.”

Cañete has had a mountain to climb in gaining the trust of European environmental groups, after the Guardian revealed that he held hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of shares in two oil companies, shortly before his appointment………

ome environmentalists fear that lop-sided inputs may affect the commission’s output when it comes to crunch policy decisions.

“Access is currency in the lobby game and there is no denying fossil fuel companies have deeper pockets and more influence,” said Brook Riley, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth Europe. “This dangerous imbalance could prevent us from making the urgently needed transition to a safe, clean and fair energy system.” http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/28/big-energy-has-privileged-access-to-top-eu-climate-officals-claim-campaigners

May 29, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, EUROPE