In the wake of global uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s war on Iran, Fraser Institute analysts recently took to the pages of the Winnipeg Sun to lament that Carney is ‘clinging to Trudeau-era policies’ like the oil tanker ban and industrial carbon pricing when he should instead ‘adopt reasonable, predictable and competitive policies’. That is a common refrain from the Vancouver-based free-market think tank, which for decades has questioned whether a climate crisis exists and attacked solutions that could address it. But Fraser Institute, whose analysts didn’t respond to DeSmog questions, wasn’t alone in seeking to exploit Trump’s military attacks to undermine climate solutions. It belongs to a U.S.-based group called the Atlas Network, which counts among its Canadian partners other conservative think tanks including Montreal Economic Institute and Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI). Between February 28 (the start of the war), and April 10, DeSmog tracked 22 instances in which Canadian news media gave space to individuals representing Atlas Network-affiliated organizations arguing Trump’s war on Iran justifies the expansion of Canada’s oil and gas sector. In eight of those examples, Atlas-affiliated groups were quoted alongside industry associations, fossil fuel lobby groups, oil companies, or banks with considerable investments in Canada’s oil and gas sector. These include appearances or attributions in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Financial Post, as well as CTV and Global television networks, among others. Subscribe to our newsletter Stay up to date with DeSmog news and alerts Name –> Email Address What content do you want to subscribe to? (check all that apply) All International UK Sign Up Canadian Media Platforms Libertarian Lobby Groups Atlas Network includes over 500 libertarian and free market organizations worldwide that have been instrumental over the past few decades in obstructing climate policy, and many of them have received funding from the fossil fuel industry. This link to Atlas is never mentioned in the nearly two dozen news pieces DeSmog identified, even though the think tanks are all making variations of a similar argument: that Trump’s illegal military incursions serve as an opportunity for Canada to expand oil and gas infrastructure. A recent Globe and Mail editorial, titled ‘A low-carbon future needs an electric jolt’, quoted reports from the MLI and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to support the argument that fossil fuels are necessary and will be required into the future to ensure a stable supply of electricity. The article was premised in part on the disruptions to global oil and gas supply (and subsequent price shocks) caused by the Iran conflict. The MLI report argued the reliability of power generation should take precedence over the sustainability of its generation. Specifically, it advocated for the use of natural gas, which fossil fuel advocates have long claimed is both reliable and a transitional ‘bridge fuel’ that’s better for the environment than coal or oil. In fact, methane—which is a constituent component of natural gas—is a greenhouse gas 86 times stronger than carbon-dioxide at trapping heat over a 20 year period. The Globe did not mention that MLI has received funding from the oil and gas sector, including from Imperial Oil and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). MLI has also received money from the Modern Miracle Network, a pro-oil advocacy group created by Questerre Energy President and CEO Michael Binnion, and from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. The Globe also failed to note that RBC was recently found to be the world’s leading investor in fossil fuels. DeSmog reached out to Globe and Mail standards editor Sandra Martin for comment, but did not receive a reply. MLI and Fraser Institute are two of Canada’s more prominent partners of Atlas Network. Atlas Network in the past has received funding from foundations and charities linked to Koch Industries, the Scaife family, and ExxonMobil. As DeSmog has previously reported, the Atlas Network has long been a major source of climate obstruction, as its member organizations have spread denial of climate science, oppose environmental regulations, and promote fossil fuel interests. Fossil Fuel Opportunism In an April 1 National Post article about why the oil companies of the Oil Sands Alliance (formerly named Pathways Alliance) want Ottawa to cover most of their carbon capture costs, Heather Exner-Pirot of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute said ‘Pathways was created at a time when (climate policy) was an existential threat,’ and ‘now, it’s obviously not a topline issue for voters. Now, it’s very much: build, expand, produce more, be an energy superpower.’ The Oil Sands Alliance is a consortium of Canadian oil companies active in the Alberta tarsands. Their flagship project, a massive carbon capture pipeline and storage initiative, has a $20 billion CAD price tag. Energy economists argue it is unlikely to be financially viable without long term financial support from government, while environmentalists argue the project will likely exacerbate Canadian carbon dioxide emissions. ‘Fossil fuel companies and their lobbyists — like the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and so-called think tanks funded by oil and gas — use whatever geopolitical event is in the news to push for new pipelines, weaken environmental regulations, and run up Ottawa’s credit card,’ said Thomas L. Green, Senior Manager, Climate Solutions, with the non-profit David Suzuki Foundation. ‘This month it’s the Middle East.’ Several industry associations and lobby groups were quoted advocating for fossil fuel expansion, including CAPP, the Canadian Fuels Association (CFA), and the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC). Exner-Pirot was quoted most often of the Atlas-linked analysts, including on Canada’s three largest broadcast networks. None of the articles that quoted Exner-Pirot mentioned that MLI has received funding from the fossil fuel sector. Moreover, Exner-Pirot’s sister, Lynn Exner, is the Chief Operating Officer and a spokesperson of Canada Action, a fossil fuel advocacy group whose advertising campaigns make frequent use of exaggerated claims about the fossil fuel sector or misinformation about climate change and government environmental regulations. As previously reported by DeSmog, Canada Action has run nation-wide misinformation campaigns, claiming ‘Canadian LNG exports will reduce global emissions.’ Canada Action’s campaigns have been cited in efforts to ban pro-fossil fuel false advertising by several Canadian cities. DeSmog reached out to Heather Exner-Pirot for comment, but she did not reply. Green dismissed the argument for increased oil and gas production advanced by groups like MLI or CAPP succinctly: ‘It’s bull.’ ‘Every taxpayer dollar spent building fossil fuel infrastructure that will be stranded is a dollar not spent on the clean energy that actually protects Canadians from volatile global markets, the health consequences of fossil fuel pollution and worsening climate disasters,’ said Green. The post Canadian Media Platforms Atlas Network Groups Pushing Fossil Fuels in Response to Iran War appeared first on DeSmog.

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