{"query_echo":{"q":"","filters":{"analysis_type":["political influence study"]},"warnings":[{"code":"facet_value_not_in_vocabulary","message":"Value 'political influence study' for facet 'analysis_type' is not in the controlled vocabulary."}]},"total":{"value":2,"relation":"eq"},"page":1,"page_size":20,"self":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/api/v1/search?analysis_type=political+influence+study","stability":"beta","ai_marking":{"digital_source_type":{"uri":"http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/trainedAlgorithmicMedia","name":"Created using Generative AI"},"notice":"Summary and key insights are generated using artificial intelligence."},"results":[{"id":"cssn-000047","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/cssn-000047","title":"Who’s Influencing Connecticut Climate and Clean Energy Politics? Five Questions","publisher":{"name":"Climate Social Science Network","organization":"climate-social-science-network"},"document_type":"research paper","language":"en","date_published":"2021-12","source_url":"https://cssn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/CT-CSSN-Research-Report.pdf","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"The report finds overwhelming public and organizational support for priority climate legislation in Connecticut, yet a significant gap exists between this support and legislative outcomes. While 91.7% of testimony positions supported priority bills, most legislation died in committee. The study highlights a stark imbalance in lobbying resources, with electric and gas utilities spending over $24 million—far exceeding the spending of environmental groups and renewable energy firms. Opposition to climate action has shifted from denying climate science to employing 'climate delay' discourses, such as arguing that Connecticut is too small to matter or that policies would disproportionately harm low-income residents.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"There is overwhelming support for priority climate and clean energy legislation in written testimony, with 91.7% of positions taken between 2013 and 2020 supporting such bills.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Individuals speaking on their own behalf represent the largest group of testifiers, and the vast majority of their positions (97.5%) support priority climate legislation.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Lobbying expenditures are highly unequal, with electric and gas utilities spending over $24 million over eight years, which is four times the spending of renewable energy firms and over eight times that of environmental organizations.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Opposition to priority climate legislation is concentrated among specific sectors, including electric and gas utilities, heating oil and alternative fuels, business associations, the auto industry, fossil fuels, and real estate.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Most climate and clean energy legislation fails early in the process; of 354 bills introduced between 2013 and 2020, only 78 left committee and 56 became law, representing a 16 percent survival rate.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#insight-5","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Opposition to climate action in Connecticut has shifted away from disputing climate science toward using 'climate delay' discourses to stop or postpone individual bills.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#insight-6","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Opponents of climate legislation frequently use nine specific discourses, including arguing that natural gas is essential for the economy, that policies hurt low-income residents, that carbon pricing is just another tax, and that Connecticut is too small to impact global trends.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#insight-7","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Carbon pricing was identified as the most contested issue in the study, exemplified by 2018 HB-5363, which received 197 positions in support and 97 in opposition.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#insight-8","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"While solar legislation saw strong support from advocates, it faced significant opposition from the utility industry, particularly regarding net metering and shared clean energy programs.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"cssn-000047#insight-9","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["climate change","clean energy","carbon price","solar energy","offshore wind power","electric vehicle","Green New Deal","climate change disinformation","energy efficiency","Renewable portfolio standard"],"geography_discussed":["World","United States","Massachusetts"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["policy analysis","political influence study","discourse analysis"]},{"id":"ucs-000431","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/ucs-000431","title":"Colorado Targeted by Fossil Fuel Industry’s Disinformation Playbook","publisher":{"name":"Union of Concerned Scientists","organization":"union-of-concerned-scientists"},"document_type":"report","language":"en","date_published":"2021-10","source_url":"https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-01/Colorado-Targeted-by-Fossil-Fuel-Industry-Disinformation-Playbook-u.pdf","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"The Union of Concerned Scientists documents how the fossil fuel industry in Colorado employs four primary disinformation tactics—The Fix, The Diversion, The Screen, and The Fake—to maintain political control and undermine public health and safety. The report details the industry's use of front groups, lobbying, and misleading economic claims to thwart regulations and ballot initiatives, while highlighting the disproportionate impact of pollution on communities of color and low-income residents. It concludes with recommendations for state regulators to prioritize science and community voices over industry profits.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"The fossil fuel industry in Colorado utilizes a 'Disinformation Playbook' consisting of four tactics: 'The Fix' (manipulating government officials), 'The Diversion' (manufacturing scientific uncertainty), 'The Screen' (buying credibility through alliances), and 'The Fake' (promoting misleading research).","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Industry spending has been used to overwhelm public opposition to health and safety ballot initiatives. In 2016, opponents of a mandatory setback amendment out-raised proponents by a ratio of 24:1, with nearly $17 million coming from energy industry companies or front groups.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The industry employs 'astroturf' front groups, such as Protect Colorado and Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development (CRED), to create a false appearance of grassroots support and oppose climate and energy policies.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The oil and gas industry has established influential ties with academic institutions to lend credibility to industry-favorable reports. Specifically, the Common Sense Policy Roundtable (CSPR) exercised control over economic modeling and reports from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Industry claims regarding economic contributions are significantly inflated. While CRED ads claim the industry supports 'hundreds of thousands of jobs,' Bureau of Economic Analysis data shows oil and gas extraction accounted for only 24,786 jobs in Colorado in 2019, representing less than 1 percent of state jobs.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#insight-5","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Oil and gas operations disproportionately harm marginalized populations. In Commerce City, the Suncor petroleum refinery is located in communities that are majority people of color and majority low-income, and it is one of the state's most polluting facilities.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#insight-6","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Air pollution from the industry is linked to severe health issues. Research indicates that children and young adults with acute lymphocytic leukemia were 4.3 times more likely to live in areas dense with active oil and gas wells.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#insight-7","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions, has created an 'ozone climate penalty' along the Colorado Front Range, increasing ground-level ozone and exacerbating health burdens for disenfranchised communities.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#insight-8","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Abandoned and 'orphaned' wells pose significant environmental and safety risks, including methane leaks and explosions. In 2020, the state's Orphaned Well Program spent over $4.7 million, but industry bonds covered only about 10 percent of that cost.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"ucs-000431#insight-9","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["fossil fuel industry","climate change disinformation","hydraulic fracturing","air pollution","methane emissions","environmental justice","greenwashing","extreme heat","wildfire","climate finance","public health"],"geography_discussed":["Commerce City","Greeley","Firestone","Boulder","San Miguel County","Denver","Colorado Springs"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["policy analysis","environmental impact assessment","political influence study"]}]}