Euractiv, Monetary Instances, Politico Europe advised NO MORE in Open Letter
- 16 leading civil society organizations have announced that they will no longer accept invitations to media events on EU politics sponsored by fossil fuel companies.
- They announced this in an open letter to the editors of the three European news organizations Euractiv, the Financial Times and Politico Europe.
- The letter reads: Sir / Madam, as European activists for climate protection and climate justice, we are writing to you to inform you that we will no longer accept invitations to events of your media organization on EU politics sponsored by fossil fuel companies.
For the fossil fuel industry, as it was for the tobacco industry before, image is everything. To be seen as a legitimate partner and part of the solution to the climate crisis is crucial. By sponsoring high profile events organized by media like yours, the fossil fuel industry is buying a platform to gain credibility and undue influence.
For the fossil fuel industry, as it was for the tobacco industry before, image is everything. To be seen as a legitimate partner and part of the solution to the climate crisis is crucial. By sponsoring high profile events organized by media like yours, the fossil fuel industry is buying a platform to gain credibility and undue influence.
For the fossil fuel industry, as it was for the tobacco industry before, image is everything. To be seen as a legitimate partner and part of the solution to the climate crisis is crucial. By sponsoring high profile events organized by media like yours, the fossil fuel industry is buying a platform to gain credibility and undue influence.
At a time when disinformation is spreading on social media and advertising and editorial content are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from one another, we firmly believe that free media play a central role in upholding democracy and freedom of expression.
However, the pursuit of objectivity is not served by the fact that the fossil fuel industry sponsors media platforms. The continuing role of coal, oil and gas interests in accelerating the climate crisis and undermining climate change is not a matter of opinion, and allowing the industry to shape the discussion can only serve to delay the urgent steps that are being taken to limit global warming to a level that nature and society can withstand.
In the words of millions of schoolchildren on climate strike: Our house is on fire.
And the fossil fuel industry has a can of gasoline in hand. When fossil fuel companies use the credibility of their media platforms to set the terms of public debate and position themselves near decision makers, you are helping them pour fuel on the fire.
We would love you to publish this letter so that your readers and event attendees can be informed about why our organizations are absent from events that you organize with the support of the fossil fuel industry. And we urge you to further address the insidious problem of fossil fuel impact by stop organizing events sponsored by fossil fuel companies.
Kind regards,
- Fossil free politics
- Age-I
- CIDSE
- Corporate Europe Observatory
- Counterweight
- European Federation of Public Service Unions
- Food and Water Action Europe
- Friends of the Earth Europe
- Global witness
- Greenpeace
- HEAL
- Friends of Nature International
- Transport & Environment
- Youth for climate
- WWF Office for European Policy
