December, 28 2009, 06:02am EDT
The Climate Lobby from Soup to Nuts
1,160 Businesses and Groups Lobbying on Climate Change; Venture Capitalists, Food Companies Now Among Those Fighting for a Place at the Table
WASHINGTON
President
Obama said at Copenhagen that the United States is committed to action
on global warming, but the domestic politics are only growing more
complex. A Center for Public Integrity analysis of the 140 interests
that jumped into the fray for the first time in the third quarter of
2009 reveals a marked trend: Firms and organizations which feel they've
been overlooked are fighting for a place at the table. Among them:
venture capitalists and food companies, including America's most iconic
soup maker.
The Center's story, "The Climate Lobby from Soup to Nuts,"
notes that overall, the number of businesses and groups lobbying on
climate change in the third quarter essentially held steady at 1,160;
those new interests that jumped in were essentially balanced by others
who left the battle. Even so, the Center's analysis found that the
overall spending on climate lobbying likely grew in the third quarter.
Although amounts spent on lobbying by issue are not disclosed, if the
groups involved spent just 10 percent of their lobbying budgets on
climate, they would have shelled out $30.5 million in the third quarter
- up nearly 13 percent over the previous quarter.
This story is part of the Center's ongoing series, The Climate Change Lobby, which includes a searchable database of lobbyists.
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy. We are committed to transparent and comprehensive reporting both in the United States and around the world.
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