Fred Palmer

Climate Change Denial Business Fred Palmer

Fred Palmer served as the Senior Vice President of Governmental Relations at Peabody, formerly Peabody Energy, from 2001 to 2015, and was responsible for lobbying. In 2017, he joined the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank notorious for climate change denial, as a senior fellow on energy and climate.

Climate change:

Fred Palmer told an industry gathering “every time you turn your car on and you burn fossil fuels and you put C02 in the air you are doing the work of the lord.” He has dismissed climate science as “climate theory” and believes climate activists are “a well-funded group out there pushing this agenda to get into your pocketbooks.” Palmer advocates for the positive effects of enhanced atmospheric CO2 content on the biosphere” and the “importance of fossil fuel energy to our quality of life.” He believes “coal is green. It is not dirty, because of electrification. CO2 is a benign gas required for life on Earth and is not dirty.”

Palmer has argued that global warming is not a concern because “There have been times on earth when it has been much warmer than today, and times when it’s been much colder. The latter are called ice ages. One of the former is called ‘The Climate Optimum.’ It was a time of higher average global temperature and high CO2.”

Peabody has funded “at least two dozen groups that cast doubt on man made climate change and oppose environmental regulations.” Some of these groups include the American Legislative Exchange Council, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, and National Black Chamber of Commerce. Their climate denial lobbying dates back to Fred Palmer in the 1990s when he “promoted the notion that climate change was a net positive, with benefits for plants and public health.” Palmer has also opposed EPA rules and “limits on carbon pollution to deal with what he dismissed as “climate theory.” In 2010, Peabody spent over $4.5 million on lobbying, including half a million dollars to Larry Tribe to argue against the Clean Power Plan Act.

In a letter to the US government Peabody described C02 as, “a benign gas that is essential for all life.” In 2015 they sent another letter stating “While the benefits of carbon dioxide are proven, the alleged risks of climate change are contrary to observed data, are based on admitted speculation, and lack adequate scientific basis.” Vic Svec, Senior VP for Global Investors, has stated “our view is that the worst human and environmental crisis is not climate change.”

Alaska:

In 2008, Peabody was sued by a native Alaskan village over erosion damage and greenhouse gas emissions. The village was forced to relocate because of the environmental damage.