Keystone Pipeline Consultants ERM Criticized in Past for BP Pipeline Approval in Turkey

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DeSmogBlog has found that Environmental Resources Management, theย consulting firm behind the Keystone XL Pipeline environmental impact assessment, has been at the center of controversial pipeline projects in theย past.ย 

Activists working against the 2002 planned construction of British Petroleum’s Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey, singled out Environmental Resources Management (ERM) for what they saw as ERM โ€œgroomingโ€ the BP pipeline for construction. Like the Keystone XL pipeline assessment, ERM‘s assessment of the Turkish pipeline was seen as flawed and drafted in a way that gave all but the green light for the pipeline to beย constructed.

Environmental and human rights group London Rising Tide went as far as occupying ERM‘s offices in London, handing out pamphlets to employees statingย that:

Your employer [ERM] plays a crucial role if low-key, in grooming BP‘s Baku Ceyhan pipeline forย construction.

In recent days, similar concerns have been raised after the website InsideClimate News revealedย that:ย 

The State Department’sย recent conclusionย that the Keystone XL pipeline โ€œis unlikely to have a substantial impactโ€ on the rate of Canada’s oil sands development was based on analysis provided by two consulting firms with ties to oil and pipeline companies that could benefit from the proposedย project.

Researcher Brad Johnson writing on Grist then made the link to Environmental Resources Management, findingย that,

The โ€œsustainability consultancyโ€ Environmental Resources Management (ERM) was paid an undisclosed amountย under contract to TransCanadaย to write the statement, which is now an official governmentย document.

The construction and operation of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline has impacted the livelihoods of local fishermen, as seen in this video:

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Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a โ€œGreen Heroโ€ by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the โ€œTop 50 Tweetersโ€ on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevinโ€™s research into the โ€œclimate denial industryโ€ and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Kochโ€™s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea partyย networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a โ€œCertified Expertโ€ on theย political and community organizing platformย NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the worldโ€™s best e-Content and innovative ICTย applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

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