The George C. Marshall Institute (GMI) was a leader in climate denial from 1990 onward, but disbanded in 2015. Its chairman Will Happer and CEO WIlliam O’Keefe rebranded its climate denial effort as the CO2 Coalition, more accurately a CoalOILition.

Of its 18 people, 15 signed Happer’s “300 scientists” (sic) letter to help Lamar Smith(R-TX) waste more taxpayer money harassing NOAA. Early analysis of the signers list makes it look even sillier than Happer’s 2009 petition to the American Physical Society, as will be seen in a forthcoming detailed post. Oil and coal industry people are well-represented.

Inspired by DeSmog UK‘s recent exposure of Patrick Moore’s work for European coal, this post summarizes known connections of those involved in the CO2 CoalOILition. People were tagged Coal and/or OIL, explained below.¹  For example, of 18, five worked directly for Exxon, Shell or the American Petroleum Institute.  Also, 14 have been involved with Heartland ICCC meetings.

The first table is a dense summary, the second gives the backup details. 
Readers might evaluate climate-related efforts from such a group as akin to health recommendations from Big Tobacco. 

The detailed list annotates the descriptions from their website, to explain the C and O tags.
Money flows are often hidden via Donors Trust, Donors Capital Fund or transfers among think tanks, but the following have gotten OIL funding directly from ExxonMobil, the Kochs and/or Richard Mellon Scaife.²

• Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change (CSCDGC
• GMI,
• Heartland Institute, also Coal money via Murray Energy, ICCC (speakers) sponsorship by Illinois Coal Association,
• Manhattan Institute,
• Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF)

TPPF has run key conferences in 2014 and 2015:
TPPF2014 conference speakers included Hartnett-White (organizer), Mills, Steward, Spencer.
TPPF2015 speakers included Happer, Lindzen, Mills, Moore, Steward, and Lamar Smith. One may wonder if they talked.
Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy (coal), gave the opening keynote.

Almost everyone here already has extensive DeSmog profiles. (Scroll down to view the table)

¹ People were tagged with C or O if at some time or other, not necessarily currently, and not necessarily paid personally, they:

• were long-time fossil employees.  For example, of 18 people, 3 worked for ExxonMobil, 1 for Shell.
• got paid directly by fossil companies or their associations for consulting, testimony, other work or their think tank business.
• got paid indirectly through fossil-funded groups, either via employment or other serious association, at least expenses likely. For example, Heartland ICCC speakers are counted but merely being a “Heartland expert” (sic) does not.
• were fossil-funded think tank Trustees/Board members, so would know funding, although perhaps not paid.

Think tank finances are purposefully murky. Many ways exist to funnel money to advocates, such as speaking fees or book purchases. Readers can imagine the funding effects of any associated with these think tanks of saying “I accept mainstream science, we must reduce fossil burning.”

² Crescendo to Climategate Cacophony pp.93-95 shows GMI, Heartland, and Manhattan. They (and TPPF) have had either tobacco connections (GMI, via Frederick Seitz) or direct funding (the rest), Fakery2 p.39. Of course, tobacco companies stay in business only by addicting people during adolescent brain development, knowing many will die. Some think tanks help and get paid for it.
For TPPF see Truth Tobacco Industry Documents, as for example Philip Morris (1998):

“We have had a close relationship with them for many years.  Per Neal’s operation, they have done a lot of work on issues that we deem important.  We are a longtime financial supporter.”

GMI, as the pioneer think tank for climate denial, was of course the focus of Merchants of Doubt.

Hashtag: #CO2CoalOILition
Update 04/04/16: Cohen GMI score upped to 3, given coauthoring with Happer.