Phenomenal work by Astrotruth.org on this.

Rachel Maddow explains:

I’ve written several times now about Tuesday’s climate policy briefing hosted by Newsweek magazine and the American Petroleum Institute.

Here is the full transcript of the event:

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About a month ago, a strange email hit the inboxes of many congressional staffers. It was an invitation to an ‘Executive Forum’ on climate and energy policy hosted by the American Petroleum Institute. What was strange about this invitation was the sender of the email and the co-host of the policy forum: Newsweek magazine. The event is scheduled for today at 4pm.

Greenpeace’s Executive Director Phil Radford, understandably, took issue with this when the event was announced:

At present, the panel’s only member is American Petroleum Institute (API) President Jack Gerard.As you know, Mr. Gerard is the nation’s top registered lobbyist for Big Oil. API and its biggest member, ExxonMobil, have aggressively lobbied against global warming policy solutions that will inevitably limit global consumption of oil. API and its members have spent tens of millions of dollars over the past decade alone on propaganda efforts and front groups to undercut public confidence in the wide and deep global scientific consensus that global warming is real, that human consumption of fossil fuels is driving it, and that the problem is a serious threat to America and the rest of the world.

Greenpeace was not alone in its concerns:

“You’re selling access,” said Edward Wasserman, Knight professor of journalism ethics at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. “Newsweek is using its reputation as a great news organization to convene these officeholders to talk about public policy. Then it’s renting out a space at the table for one of its customers who would not be at the table if not for giving money to Newsweek.”

Upping the ante before today’s big event, Greenpeace called for the event to be canceled and issued the following statement:

“Big Oil is buying access to our elected leaders by paying Newsweek to host this forum, and it must be called off,” Radford said. “Gerard and API will stop at nothing to stall progress on clean energy and climate solutions. I’m amazed Newsweek is endangering its reputation by renting its banner and top pundit to Big Oil. This forum is pay-to-play propaganda.”

In response to this, Newsweek’s Howard Fineman provided EnviroKnow with the following statement via email:

Rep. Ed Markey, the chief sponsor of the House cap-and-trade bill and a leading environmental advocate, is a full participant in the open, on-the-record discussion with no control by API over the questions or flow. Dem Sen Byron Dorgan is also participating and will reflect various views in Dem caucus. Rep Fred Upton, who opposed the House bill, will also participate. I see nothing wrong with an open, on-the-record balanced discussion like this. Newsweek has a long tradition of enviro reporting, including our annual green issue.

We’ll have more on this after tonight’s event.

Update: Talking Points Memo has now picked up this story.

Greenpeace press release via email.

Greenpeace Executive Director Phil Radford today called on Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham and the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) Jack Gerard to cancel a controversial, pay-to-play “forum” scheduled today in the US Capitol.

API and Newsweek have avoided answering basic questions about the lopsided panel – Gerard, the sponsor, is the only announced speaker – and how much API paid to rent Newsweek’s banner and columnist Howard Fineman’s time.

The event will be held in the Mansfield Room of the US Capitol.

The forum is being billed as a discussion about the effort to address climate change. It is being held amidst a congressional debate on clean energy and climate legislation and one week before world leaders meet to negotiate a global climate deal in Copenhagen, Denmark. In a widely distributed invitation to the forum, Newsweek revealed that numerous members of Congress had been invited.

Radford and his staff have repeatedly asked questions about the forum’s costs and lack of balance. Newsweek public relations staff admitted to Radford during a call that the forum was the only one that had been held in the Capitol while legislation of the same topic was being considered.

“Big Oil is buying access to our elected leaders by paying Newsweek to host this forum, and it must be called off,” Radford said. “Gerard and API will stop at nothing to stall progress on clean energy and climate solutions. I’m amazed Newsweek is endangering its reputation by renting its banner and top pundit to Big Oil. This forum is pay-to-play propaganda.”

On November 5, 2009, Greenwire broke the news about these forums. It quoted Washington and Lee University journalism ethics professor Edward Wasserman saying: “You’re selling access. Newsweek is using its reputation as a great news organization to convene these officeholders to talk about public policy. Then it’s renting out a space at the table for one of its customers who would not be at the table if not for giving money to Newsweek.”

Newsweek has stated that the event, which is scheduled for 4PM in the Mansfield Room of the US Capitol, is open to members of the press.

The other day I mentioned Newsweek’s plans to host a climate and energy policy forum for Members of Congress with the American Petroleum Institute. Here is a paragraph from the invite:

The panel discussion will be moderated Howard Fineman, Newsweek National-Affairs Columnist and Senior Washington Correspondent with special guest panelist Jack Gerard, President & Chief Executive Officer of American Petroleum Institute (API). Newsweek is also honored to have forum invitations currently pending confirmation with notable members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. These additional program announcements will be made in the coming days and you will be apprised of these updates.

Greenpeace’s Executive Director Phil Radford took issue with this, and fired off the following letter to Jon Meachem, Editor of Newsweek.

Read the rest of this entry »

Greenwire:

The major climate bill moving through Congress could reduce U.S. refining output and thereby increase reliance on imported refined products like gasoline, according to a new industry-commissioned study (pdf).

The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s biggest trade group, is raising the energy security concerns as part of its opposition to H.R. 2454 (pdf), the climate bill approved by the House in late June.

The bill would cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050. Climate legislation is expected on the Senate floor later this year.

Here is API’s highly flawed study:

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