Koch and Climate Obstruction

The report details how Koch, Inc. and its executives had access to scientific warnings about global warming as early as 1972 but spent decades financing a network of nonprofits and think tanks to obstruct climate action. This was achieved by contesting climate science, running public relations campaigns to shift cultural understanding, and lobbying political elites. The document tracks this effort from early API and National Petroleum Council reports through the funding of the Competitive Enterprise Institute's 'global warming project' and the activities of Americans for Prosperity, culminating in significant policy victories during the Trump administration and continued opposition to Biden-era climate legislation.

• Koch, Inc.'s predecessor, Rock Island Oil & Refining Company, received scientific reports in 1972 from the American Petroleum Institute (API) that warned rising CO2 levels from fossil fuels would likely result in rising global temperatures, melting ice caps, and rising sea levels.
• Charles Koch was a member of the National Petroleum Council (NPC) and received reports in 1981 and 1985 that linked fossil fuel combustion to atmospheric CO2 increases and potential 'catastrophic climate changes'.
• In 1997, Koch, Inc. specifically earmarked funding for the Competitive Enterprise Institute's (CEI) 'global warming project,' which included a conference of climate science deniers and the launch of the Cooler Heads Coalition.
• The Koch-controlled organization Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) actively opposed climate policies, including a campaign against President Bill Clinton's proposed 'BTU tax' in 1993 and the use of TV commercials in 1998 to oppose international climate negotiations.
• Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a successor to CSE, launched a 'No Climate Tax' pledge in 2008 to pressure politicians against climate policies that increased government revenue, which contributed to the defeat of U.S. cap-and-trade legislation.
• Koch, Inc. and its affiliates engaged in a strategy of 'echo chamber' promotion, such as commissioning a report by the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF) in 2009 to project high costs for the Waxman-Markey bill, then promoting it through the Institute for Energy Research and American Energy Alliance.
• Koch-funded organizations helped amplify the 'Climategate' controversy in 2009 by mischaracterizing hacked emails from the University of East Anglia to spread skepticism about climate science.
• Despite funding Richard Muller's Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) project, which eventually concluded that humans are almost entirely the cause of global warming, Koch continued to publish climate misinformation in its company newsletter.
• During the Trump administration, the Koch network achieved significant policy victories, including the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and the repeal of the EPA Clean Power Plan.
• The Koch network spent millions of dollars to support the confirmation of Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney-Barrett, leading to rulings that restricted the EPA's ability to limit greenhouse gas pollution and overturned the Chevron doctrine.
• Under the Biden presidency, AFP launched multi-million and eight-figure advertising campaigns to oppose the 'Build Back Better' package and the Inflation Reduction Act.
• While obstructing public policy, Koch, Inc. and its subsidiaries (such as Georgia-Pacific and Molex) have implemented internal greenhouse gas reduction efforts when they provide business or public relations benefits.

APA

Gibson, C., & Brulle, R. J. (2024). Koch and Climate Obstruction. Climate Social Science Network. https://cssn.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GibsonBrulle_KochandClimateObstruction_2024.pdf

Chicago

Gibson, Connor, and Robert J. Brulle. Koch and Climate Obstruction. Climate Social Science Network, 2024. https://cssn.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GibsonBrulle_KochandClimateObstruction_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gibson |first1=Connor |last2=Brulle |first2=Robert J. |title=Koch and Climate Obstruction |publisher=Climate Social Science Network |date=November 2024 |url=https://cssn.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GibsonBrulle_KochandClimateObstruction_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gibson2024koch, author = {Gibson, Connor and Brulle, Robert J.}, title = {{Koch and Climate Obstruction}}, institution = {Climate Social Science Network}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://cssn.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GibsonBrulle_KochandClimateObstruction_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }