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 he
media are looking avidly for any signs that collapsed-energy-giant
Enron may have had undue influence over the Bush administration's
energy policy. They're also completely ignoring Enron's involvement
with environmental-activist groups during the Clinton years. Enron
has endorsed policy initiatives opposed by the Bush administration,
including the high-profile Kyoto Treaty on climate change. And it
provided almost $1.5 million in grants to green groups that pushed
for Clinton administration global-warming policies the Bush White
House now rejects.
Clearly, the
whole story hasn't been told. Capital
Research Center studies indicate that far from being the Bush
administration's closest collaborator, Enron has been a major backer
of green groups — groups which have been a thorn in the administration's
side since day one. Enron is far from being the champion of Bush
environmental policies some want to believe.
During the
Clinton administration, Enron was a corporate supporter for those
who demanded international energy controls to reduce so-called global
warming. From 1994 to 1996, the Enron Foundation contributed $990,000
to the Nature Conservancy. The Conservancy's "Climate Change"
project promotes global-warming theories, a key component of the
Kyoto Protocol. Indeed, one internal Enron memo — circulated
immediately after the 1997 Kyoto meeting — shows the company
believed that the treaty could provide it with a financial windfall.
According to the memo, which was first reported by the Washington
Post, the Kyoto treaty "would do more to promote Enron's
business than will almost any other regulatory initiative outside
of restructuring the energy and natural-gas industries in Europe
and the United States."
Last June,
President Bush refused to sign the treaty, saying it "is, in
many ways, unrealistic" and that "it's not sound public
policy." Despite pressure from green groups, the administration
pulled out of last fall's meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, on the
treaty's implementation.
Enron, however,
has been at the forefront of the global-warming debate, and was
an early and strong supporter of Kyoto and Kyoto's proponents:
 In
January 1997, the company announced formation of the Enron Renewable
Energy Corporation to offer alternatives to the "$250 billion
U.S. electricity market." Renewable Energy CEO Tom White supported
President Clinton's $6.3 million plan to fight global warming.
Later
that year, Enron CEO Kenneth Lay was named a member of President
Clinton's "Council on Sustainable Development," joining
Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, EPA Administrator Carol
Browner, and Fred Krupp, executive director of the Environmental
Defense Fund. The task force also included representatives from
the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Natural
Resources Defense Council.
The
National Environmental Trust, a public-relations organization heavily
funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts to promote environmental policies,
worked with Kenneth Lay to place pro-Kyoto editorials (under Lay's
signature) in the Houston Chronicle, the Austin-American
Statesman, and the Salt Lake City Tribune.
When
President Clinton called for a gradual reduction in greenhouse gases,
to lay the groundwork for U.S. backing of Kyoto, Enron executives
expressed their support. In an Atlanta Constitution article,
Enron Senior Vice President Terry Thorn called the announcement
"a measured, appropriate action plan given what we know today
about global warming. This will unleash the ingenuity of American
business to find creative solutions."
Enron also
urged the Nature Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a coalition
of Oregon environmental groups to sign a memorandum of agreement
endorsing its 1997 purchase of Portland General Electric, despite
objections by the state Public Utility Commission. Portland's Willamette
Week newspaper has reported that these groups subsequently received
grants from Enron totaling nearly $500,000. Among the beneficiaries
is Northwest Environmental Advocates ($30,000), which is a member
of the Oregon Climate Action Network — a coalition that has
lobbied Congress to support Kyoto.
The company
itself has said that Kyoto would help its bottom line. Enron and
the Bush administration can hardly be said to see eye to eye on
energy policy.
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