Some of America’s most prominent environmentalist groups are secretly investing in oil and natural gas, even as they publicly push groups to divest from fossil fuels. That’s the takeaway from an explosive new report from NBC.
These organizations aren’t merely hypocritical – they’re actively harming the environment with their lobbying. By urging others to deprive energy firms of capital, environmentalists are delaying the transition away from less environmentally friendly coal-fired power plants towards cleaner, natural-gas powered ones.
Although natural gas is far cleaner than coal, the greens have included gas in their latest effort at economic warfare: demanding divestment from all fossil fuels.
In a public statement released in December 2015, the World Wildlife Fund praised investors who join “the global chorus saying enough is enough when it comes to dirty energy. Whether the motivation is economic, moral, environmental or political, burning coal and other fossil fuels no longer makes sense.”
The American Museum of Natural History in New York City, which boasts a $617 million endowment, has taken an even more pompous tone. In a 2016 letter to green activists pushing for divestment, the museum declared it had “formally requested that all of its investment managers take environmental and climate change issues into account when reviewing their current investments.”
The letter promised the museum had eliminated direct investments in fossil fuel companies and reduced its overall fossil fuel investment from 4 percent to less than 2 percent of its endowment.
The Paradise Papers, a cache of more than 13 million leaked documents detailing shady offshore finance activity, tell a different story. The museum was selling snake oil to its donors.
According to the papers, the museum’s 2 percent figure fails to account for its $5 million pledge to private equity firm Denham Capital’s “Fund V,” which was explicitly advertised to investors as vehicle to invest in commodities such as coal, oil, and natural gas.
Using funds from the museum and other investors, Denham plowed money into fracking ventures in Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as fossil-fuel projects abroad. According to a museum spokesperson, the Natural History Museum still retains a share of its Denham investment.
Who else has a significant position in Denham V? You guessed it — the World Wildlife Fund.
It’s no mystery why these environmentalist groups continue to invest in oil and natural gas companies despite pledges to the contrary. These investments generate excellent returns. The price of oil is currently near a three and a half year high, which has sent oil stocks skyrocketing. Analysts expect major gains in earnings per share even if the price of crude doesn’t continue to rise.
Thanks to improved drilling techniques such as fracking, the United States is now the world’s largest producer of petroleum and natural gas. Oil and natural gas companies support 10.3 million American jobs and contributing $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy.
In short, there’s no way to reap the full benefits of investing in the American economy without at least dabbling in energy stocks. Everyone knows it. Even environmentalist institutions whose green bona fides require them to deny it.
The movement to disinvest from oil and natural gas firms – or at least pretend to – has been spreading. Under activist pressure, institutions from Harvard University to the Field Museum in Chicago have pledged to rid themselves of these assets. Some donors are conditioning their gifts to these institutions on disinvestment or starting alternative funds that are clean and green.
The irony is that the oil and natural gas industry itself has been responsible for a massive reduction in carbon emissions in recent decades. Now that fracking has boosted natural gas production and driven down prices, it’s far cheaper to build and operate power plants that run on natural gas instead of coal.
Natural gas produces nearly 50 percent less in carbon emissions than does coal. Thanks to the natural gas boom, overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are at their lowest level in 25 years.
This production boom is enriching everyday Americans. By 2025, the average household will save $3,500 per year as a result of lower natural gas prices, according to consulting firm IHS.
The Paradise Papers have put the hypocrisy of green activists on full display. Americans shouldn’t let these two-faced organizations falsely malign clean, affordable energy sources.
Drew Johnson is a Senior Scholar at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
