Mapped: Revolving Doors between UK Government and the Energy Industry

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After days of discussions at the climate talks in Bonn, negotiators failed to agree on a conflict of interest policy that would exclude fossil fuel companies from getting involved in theย process.

The issue has been high on the agenda at the talks in Germany with campaigners arguing polluting businesses are weakening climate ambitions by lobbying government officials to protect theirย profits.

But rich and developed countries such as the US, Australia and Canada have repeatedly opposed โ€œkicking outโ€ big polluters from the climate talks process. Instead countries agreedย โ€œto further enhance the openness, transparency, inclusiveness and balance of the effective engagement of non-party stakeholders in a manner thatย enhances the implementation of theย conventionโ€.ย 

Jesse Bragg, a spokesman for NGO Corporate Accountability, told DeSmog UK this was โ€œa small step in the right direction given the overwhelming obstruction from the global northโ€. He added pressures on the EU to back a proposition for a conflict of interest policy โ€œseemed to have workedโ€ with the union taking a backseat and โ€œfor the first time, did not actively and publicly stand in the way of such aย policyโ€.ย 

But in a new report, the Greens-European Free Alliance (Greens-EFA), a political group in the European Parliament, argue the EUโ€™s historic opposition to a strong conflict of interest policy is because of the cosy relationship between European governments and private companies with a vested interest in weak climateย policies.

Thisย is highlighted by the extent of the revolving doors between European governmental bodies, the public sector and private fossil fuel companies, the reportย says.

Andy Rowell, a campaigner at Oil Change International and co-author of the report, argues that the UK in particular has โ€œan endemic revolving door problem that exists at all levels of governmentโ€, involving ministers, political advisors and senior and middle-ranking civilย servants.

Based on the reportโ€™s research, DeSmog UK has mapped the connections between former government officials and the fossil fuel and other energy companies where they have taken upย jobs:

Fossilย Fuels

There are several examples of deep rooted ties between former government officials and the frackingย industry.

Former CEO of BP Lord Browne was appointed lead non-executive director of the Cabinet Office by then Prime Minister David Cameron. At the time, Browne was also chair of fracking companyย Cuadrilla.

Former head of energy markets and infrastructure strategy at the then Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Patrick Erwin first joined fracking company INEOS on secondment from his civil servant job before taking on the role of business development director fullย time.

The report points to Browne and Erwinโ€™s โ€œpivotal rolesโ€ in the formation of the burgeoning shale gas industry in the UK at a time when scientists warned most of the worldโ€™s fossil fuel reserves have to be kept in the ground in order to limit global temperature rise in line with the Parisย Agreement.

In 2016, Erwin also joined the electricity supply company Northern Powergrid, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. That companyโ€™s CEO, globally renowned investor and one of the worldโ€™s richest people, Warren Buffett, has deep rooted ties with coal-fired-power-plants and the oil industry.

A spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid confirmedย Erwin was recruited from his previous INEOS role to join its โ€œregultraed business as an UK electrity distribution networkย operatorโ€.ย 

Then there is Matt Hinde, the former head of EU strategy for DECC. In 2015, he left the civil service and took on a role as director and senior vice president for energy for the lobbying giant FleishmanHillard, which lists clients including Total, Shell, ExxonMobil, Statoil, Eni and BP.

According to the report, at least threeย former ministers with energy and/or climate change portfolios went on to hold key roles at energyย companies.

One was former energy minister and Tory MP Charles Hendry, who took four lucrative jobs in the oil industry after being part of David Cameronโ€™s supposed โ€œgreenest government everโ€.ย ย 

However, Hendry also later became a director for Atlantic Superconnection, the company which plans to build an undersea cable from Iceland to the UK to import electricity from hydroelectric and geothermal energy sources โ€“ a deal which he signed as minister the previous year.

Renewablesย 

Otherย ministers have taken on roles in energy companies with a focus on renewables or cleaner energy sources, in contrast to those that enter the fossil fuelย industry.

Lord Greg Barker was the Conservative minister for climate change between 2010 and 2014 and has been a key figures in pushing the Tories to take climate action seriously. He has since worked as an adviser for several renewable and solar energy companies, including BP-owned Lightsourceย Renewable.

Barker has ties to the Russian energy industry. He worked for oil company Sibneft, which was owned by Roman Abramovitch โ€“ the billionaire owner of Chelsea football club โ€“ later bought by Gazprom. Last year, he became chair of EN+, a Russian aluminium and hydropower producer controlled by billionaire Olegย Deripaska.

At the time, Barker said EN+ was โ€œat the vanguard of green industrial innovationย as it transforms its huge clean energy resources to green metal and supplies it to fast-growing internationalย marketsโ€.ย 

EN+โ€™s listing on the London Stock Exchange prompted criticism from MI6 after the US imposed sanctions on Deripaska and his firms accusing him of being linked to organised crime and of โ€œdirectly or indirectlyโ€ working for theย Kremlin.

Lib Dem MP Sir Ed Davey has taken onย consultancy roles following his ministerial responsibilities as the energy secretary under the coalition government. This included advisory roles at Engie UK as well as law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, lobbying firm MHP and Macquarie Bank, which list BP, EDF and leading fracking company INEOS among theirย clients.

However, Davey told DeSmog UK his consultancy work โ€œfocused entirely on renewablesโ€ and that he โ€œhas not worked at all for BP, EDF or INEOSโ€. He added having oined ENGIE UK because โ€œthey are one of the top energy companies who is changing their strategy to divest themselves of fossil fuel interests and go into renewablesโ€, he undertook one small solar project for Macquarie Bank and worked for MHP‘s renewable clients on tidal and wave energyย projects.ย 

Davey is also the chairman ofย Fit for the Future, a network of more than 80 organisations working to make their organisations climate-friendly.ย  Since regaining his seat in parliament last year, Davey said he had kept only three commissions amounting to less than two days work a month on renewableย projects.ย 

Hendry, Barker and Hinde did not respond to DeSmog UK‘s request for comment in time forย publication.ย 

A Regulator Withoutย Teeth

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACBA) is the independent UK regulator charged with advising ministers and civil servants on whether there is a conflict of interest risk by taking on a new job after serving theย government.

But the ACBA only has an advisory role and has been previously described as โ€œthe committee which never says noโ€.

Report author Rowell said the ACBA was a โ€œtoothless regulatorโ€ which was โ€œnot fit for purposeโ€ and oversaw a system โ€œriddled with loopholes which have exacerbated theย problemโ€.

Ministers and senior public officials need to consult the ACBA when taking on a role within two years of their previous government job. The ACBA usually recommends a short waiting period, a ban on personally lobbying the government for a period of anything from a few months up to two years and the non-disclosure of sensitiveย information.

The report notes it is difficult to measure the effects the revolving door phenomenon has on climate policy , and argues that more research is needed to establish what the relationship between the two mayย be.

It concludes that establishing the links between former government officials and the fossil fuel industry highlights โ€œthe major potential for conflict of interestโ€, adding: โ€œWhen one takes into account what is at stake for large fossil fuel companies, and how much lobbying they conduct on climate policy more generally, weak revolving door policy provides another avenue of influence for private fossil fuel interests toย exploitโ€.

A spokeswoman for the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments said the rules regarding businessย appointments after public office are set by the government’s cabinet office and apply across the civil service at all levels.ย 

A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office said the government was confidentย the ACBA rules wereย fit for purpose and that the process was โ€œthe most transparentย everโ€.ย 

She said: โ€œThe government takes the issue of conflicts of interest extremely seriously. Departments carefully consider each application on the basis of the facts, and where appropriate restrictions are put inย place.ย 

โ€œThe importance of complying fully with the Business Appointment Rules is set out in a civil servantโ€™s terms and conditions of employment, and is legallyย binding.โ€ย 

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