Message From the Editor

Get ready for the gas industry’s denial and disinformation machine to kick into high gear — this week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a formal request for information on the potential health impacts of gas stoves.

While the issue has, dare we say, heated up recently, the gas industry has long sponsored its own research into the problem of indoor air pollution from gas stoves. Now, newly discovered documents reveal that the American Gas Association knew much more about the issue, at a far earlier date, than has been previously documented.

Our new investigation, the first in a series in partnership with the Climate Investigations Center, reveals that more than 50 years ago, in 1972, AGA authored a draft report highlighting indoor air pollution concerns similar to those being raised by health experts and regulators today. 

In particular, this draft report examined what to do about problems related to the emission of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides (collectively referred to as NOx) from domestic gas appliances.

But by the time the draft became a final report that was published by the National Industrial Pollution Control Council, a government advisory body, any mention of those concerns had vanished. Click through to the investigation to learn more about what the AGA knew about the “NOx problem” in the ‘70s.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: editor@desmog.com. The UK team has a new Deputy Editor, and he’s hit the ground running. Want to follow his, and the rest of the team’s work? Sign up for our UK newsletter.

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Powerful public-interest journalism like this is made possible by readers like you. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image credit: February 1971 U.S. Commerce Department Publication (Public Domain)

Industry Knew About Gas Stoves’ Air Pollution Problems in Early 1970s

— By Rebecca John (11 min. read) —

At the end of December 2022, when Americans were getting ready to spend hours indoors with family and friends — often in their kitchens, preparing holiday meals on the stovetop — a new study reignited a decades-old debate. The peer-reviewed research by the environmental think tank RMI (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute), the University of Sydney, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine estimated that “nearly 13 percent of childhood asthma cases in the United States can be linked to having a gas stove in the home.”

French NGOs Sue BNP Paribas, Europe’s Largest Financier of Fossil Fuel Expansion

— By Dana Drugmand (6 min. read) —

French environmental organizations Notre Affaire à Tous, Friends of the Earth France, and Oxfam France last week filed what they say is the world’s first climate lawsuit against a commercial bank, suing BNP Paribas over its continued funding of fossil fuels. The lawsuit is part of a burgeoning movement to pressure financial institutions to end their funding of the fossil fuel sector due to the climate emergency. And if these funders refuse to stop their polluting investments, the movement aims to hold them accountable through strategies such as direct action and litigation.

Fossil Fuel Linked Donors Gift Half a Million to Conservative Party

— By Sam Bright (4 min. read) —

The Conservative Party has received more than £632,000 in new donations from individuals and firms tied to polluting industries, DeSmog can reveal. 

New Electoral Commission records released today show that the bulk of the fossil-fuel linked funds came from Christopher Harborne, who donated £500,000 in the final quarter of 2022 – the joint-largest donation registered by the party during this period. 

The Natural Gas Industry Sees Cow Manure Gas as the Key to a Net Zero Future

— By Cartie Werthman (9 min. read) —

Chevron has been talking a lot about cows lately. Alongside POLITICO articles about clean energy, in D.C. newsletters, on Facebook and LinkedIn, are Chevron’s recent ads featuring taglines like “We’re looking to turn the methane from cow 💩 into the fuels of the future.” Each ad links to a page on Chevron’s website which explains how methane captured from manure is actually “renewable natural gas.” 

But Chevron isn’t the only one talking cow manure. As world leaders convened in Egypt last November to negotiate climate action at the United Nations COP27 summit, a dairy industry trade association also ran a social media campaign highlighting efforts to “upcycle methane” from cattle.

Europe’s Gas Lobby Exploits Energy Security Fears in Year Since Ukraine War

— By Stella Levantesi and Thomas Lewton (7 min. read) —

Europe’s gas industry has ramped up its messaging since Russia invaded Ukraine, exploiting fears over energy security to justify projects that risk locking the continent into long-term dependence on fossil fuels, DeSmog can reveal. 

Four big industry groups began to post many more tweets portraying investments in gas and related infrastructure as the key to secure energy supplies soon after the invasion started — and maintained this strategy throughout last year, an analysis of their social media accounts found. 

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Edelman

Edelman is a public relations agency that was founded in 1952 by Daniel J. Edelman in Chicago originally under the name Daniel J. Edelman and Associates. It now has offices internationally including Canada, the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. The Climate Investigations Center described Edelman as “the dominant PR firm for trade associations that promote an anti-environmental agenda,” noting Edelman’s contracting for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), National Mining Association (NMA), and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM). Clients have also included the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.