It recently came to light that Alberta energy giant, Talisman Energy, was funnelling money into anti-global warming efforts in the form of anonymous donation to the University of Alberta. In 2004 a $175,00 donation was made to a trust account, with the money going towards PR and lobbying efforts against government regulations that targeted greenhouse gas emissions, which would have hurt the oil companies bottom line.

The activity itself is quite common amongst not only oil companies but any industry that feels itself being threatened by external threats such as regulation or public opinion. Corporations hold it within their right to express their opinions on a topic, even if they are bias, shown most recently in the US where the Supreme Court ruled in favour of corporations in the Citizens United case allowing unlimited funding towards independent political statements.

“Corporations are people,” however, where people would act openly in their support of a cause, Talisman Energy acted in secret and the information was not made public until quite recently. Talisman knew that it was not favourable for their image to openly try and influence regulations and public opinion about global warming, however by acting in secret they went against their ethical responsibility towards not only their costumers but the general public.

Source: The Province, Oil giant kick-started climate skeptics project.