In the wake of climate change, renewable energies are more crucial than ever. Among scientists, it is widely recognised that the use of fossil energy sources like coal and oil needs to come to an end sooner rather than later in order to prevent massive consequences both to our planet and to the world’s finances. But what about the supposedly more climate-friendly gas? And aren’t renewables more expensive anyway? And why do governments still cling to fossil energies, even though they committed to becoming climate-neutral? There are multiple reasons why it might be hard to know what to believe, which facts to trust regarding the “war between old and new energy, ” and why legislations seem to be working against their goals. One of those reasons is lobbyism.
Lobbyism is the act of influencing politics and laws in a specific direction, be it through financial incentives or the promise of a cushy desk job after the next legislative period. It is a problem that is currently still on the rise. For example, last year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai hosted almost twice as many people as the one in 2022 – and four times as many lobbyists. In fact, it hosted more lobbyists than delegates from the ten countries most severely affected by climate change.
However, lobbyism doesn’t have to constrict itself to the eponymous lobby anymore. Instead, lobbyist endeavours can be supported even further through ingenious PR campaigns that push specific narratives in support of the cause being lobbied for. In that sense, lobbyism has made it out of its former political environment and into the public sphere as well.
An example of this strategy is found in the gas industry. While nuclear power was recognised as a technology to ease the transformation from fossil to renewable energy pretty early on, gas was not considered as such, and the gas industry felt threatened by this development. The subsequent campaigns tried to make gas appear climate-friendly, green, and necessary in order to achieve the emission goals regarding climate change. The message was spread through posters and advertisements or, more creatively, a gas-run truck that drove through the government district of Berlin to spread the gospel. That way, the public can also be manipulated into giving in to the industry’s false beliefs and voting in favour of them in the next election, changing the political discourse even further.
Another tactic some gas companies are using to showcase their apparent environmentally friendly business is using a logo with a green leaf, exclaiming how their company works towards a “good climate”. Under the same logo, the gas industry hosted political meetings, such as a general assembly for the German Christian Democratic Party (CDU).
But what precisely are those false narratives that are being spread by the gas industry? An example is the gas industry exclaiming that gas is more climate-friendly than other forms of fossil energy, like oil or coal since it doesn’t produce as much CO2 as the former two. Technically, this is not false; it’s just not the whole story. Methane, which is about eighty times more harmful to the climate than CO2, is the main “ingredient” of gas. Conveniently for the gas industry, methane is still an underrepresented part of the discussion surrounding greenhouse gasses despite the excessive damage it can impose on the climate. Keeping the produced amount and the consequences of methane on the low and instead focussing on the perceived advantage of gas as a climate-friendly alternative to other fossil energy sources due to a lower CO2 production has had a real-life effect on politics today: Amidst controversy, the European Union has declared gas as sustainable.
In 2022, Germany published a law meant to ease the nation into renewable energies. It includes the plan that by 2030, there will be no more federal financial support for renewable energies, since the state will have closed all coal-fired power plants by then, rendering additional support for renewables redundant. At the same time, it has been decided to indefinitely subsidise new gas power plants, which will cost the state up to one billion euros per year. Another subsidy for fossil fuel energy was supposed to be discarded by now since it is no longer necessary. Still, the government suddenly decided against it after all – costing the state another billion euros in subsidies to fossil fuel companies.
Experts are alarmed about this development, which has only been more accelerated since the Russian attack on Ukraine and the subsequent bottlenecks in gas supply. There is a call for national governments and the European Union to pay more attention to the voices and concerns of scientists and the general public when it comes to the transition to renewable energies, as the consequences of a dilatory transition are affecting each and every one of us, the underrepresented ones even more than those that are already in power.
Sources
- https://www.lobbycontrol.de/lobbyismus-und-klima/die-unterschatzte-rolle-von-narrativen-107172
- https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/weltwirtschaft/cop28-lobbyisten-100.html
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044028323000248
- https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/erdgas-stromversorgung-101.html
- https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/energiekonzerne-gasindustrie-kaempft-um-einfluss-40-millionen-euro-fuer-lobbyarbeit/28980152.html