Understanding climate obstruction is foundational to advancing effective action on the issue. Starting in the late 1980s, a broad range of actors, including corporations and trade associations, acting in coordination with conservative think tanks, foundations, and public relations firms, mounted a long-term effort to oppose action to mitigate carbon emissions responsible for climate change. Many portrayals of this effort focus on the United States; Climate Obstruction across Europe for the first time documents the development and nature of these activities across the Continent and the United Kingdom. Leading teams of experts examine case studies of eleven nations and the European Union (EU). Each team documents the historic development of climate obstruction in a country, the principal organizations involved in these efforts, the strategies and tactics utilized, and the nature of the arguments made to slow or stop climate action. Noting significant differences between countries, the book concludes with ten lessons on climate obstruction across Europe which emerge from the studies. National economies and histories are foundational in shaping obstruction and shaping the actors, lobbies, and the places for think tanks to operate. The public relations industry pushes climate delay into the public and policymaking arenas, providing fodder for a media already inclined to support the (fossil fuel-dependent) status quo. Finally, environmentalists, pro-climate policymakers, and the EU are being blamed for damaging national and regional economies and are labelled as radicals, ‘kooks’, and ‘the enemy’. Future research is suggested to better understand the development of intentional barriers to action on climate change in Europe.

This book is included in DOAB.