The Russian meddling in the US that you haven't heard about - Washington Examiner

Under the sin of omission, the U.N. climate change conference now underway in Katowice, Poland, has thus far declined to discuss how climate change policies impact average citizens in the form of higher energy prices and diminished economic activity. While it may be fashionable and trendy to demonize fossil fuels, they remain the cheapest, most reliable form of energy on earth.

Contrary to what is widely reported, there is considerable scientific debate about the role of human activity in climate change. The Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, which highlights research and scientific findings overlooked by its U.N. counterpart, released its latest report in Katowice on Dec. 4. The idea that natural influences drive warming and cooling trends doesn’t exactly fit with the U.N. narrative.

But there’s another looming bombshell applicable to Poland and Eastern Europe that could erupt while the conference is in motion and will be difficult to ignore. The Institute for Energy Research, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group that favors free market solutions for energy policy, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with President Trump’s Treasury Department that “seeks certain correspondence and related records discussing Russian funding of environmental pressure groups’ advocacy in the United States.” The request was filed on Oct. 26.

A little background information is in order.

As I previously reported here, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the outgoing chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, has asked the Treasury Department to investigate the “paperless money trail” that flows from President Vladimir Putin’s Russian government into the coffers of U.S. environmental groups for the purpose of funding propaganda campaigns against the process of hydraulic fracturing and the natural gas development that innovative drilling techniques make possible. In response to my media inquiries, the Treasury Department has acknowledged receiving Smith’s letter, but department officials have not said that they are pursuing an investigation. The FOIA request names individual department employees who would have responsibilities in the areas discussed in the letter.

Given all the media interest in the allegations of Russian interference with U.S. elections, shouldn’t there be at least as much focus and attention on Russian interference with the U.S. energy sector? Of course, the problem of Russian interference is not limited to the U.S. The Poles have their own long history with Russian aggression and Russian manipulation of energy markets. That’s one reason they are now joining with other European nations to set up import terminals for the purpose of receiving U.S. natural gas that can free them from dependence on Russia.

The U.S. is now the top producer of natural gas in the world. In 2016, U.S. natural gas imports set a record low despite increased consumption. In three of the first five months of 2017, U.S. natural gas exports were greater than imports. These trends have only accelerated in 2018 to the benefit of the U.S. and its European allies. It was almost exactly one year ago that Poland signed a five-year deal to import liquified natural gas from the U.S.

Ireland is also looking to set up its own import arrangements with the U.S., but environmentalists are working to block these pending agreements. But what is the environmental rationale for obstructing this alliance with the U.S.? The information these advocacy groups have been circulating through compliant media outlets doesn’t square with sound scientific findings that make a strong case for continued natural gas development.

Back in June 2014, the then-secretary general of NATO warned that Russia was working with environmental groups in Europe to discourage natural gas development. That warning should resonate with conference attendees in Poland. Russia has repeatedly threatened to close pipelines supplying oil and natural gas to Europe when it seeks to exert its will.

Since the U.N. conference operates under the premise that lower carbon dioxide emissions will ultimately be beneficial to the environment, there’s much to like about natural gas, which has helped the U.S. curb emissions much more substantially than the Europeans.

This could be a point of discussion at a symposium scheduled for Monday in Katowice titled, "Safeguarding Our Climate, Advancing Our Society." The Polish Academy of Sciences, which is running the symposium, might want to give careful consideration to what the FOIA request to the Treasury Department reveals and what it says about ongoing Russian efforts to discombobulate affordable, reliable supplies of energy that benefit people living in close proximity to where the Katowice conference is held.

Kevin Mooney (@KevinMooneyDC) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is an investigative reporter in Washington, D.C., who writes for several national publications.

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