New Koch-Funded Group ‘Fueling US Forward’ Aims to Promote the "Positives" of Fossil Fuels

[ErikJ]

http://www.desmogblog.com/2016/08/14/new-koch-back-campaign-rolled-out-red-state-gathering-aims-promote-positives-fossil-fuels • Sunday, August 14, 2016 -

A long-awaited campaign to rebrand fossil fuels called Fueling U.S. Forward made its public debut at the Red State Gathering 2016 on Saturday, where the organization's President and CEO Charles Drevna gave attendees the inside scoop on the effort, and confirmed that the campaign is backed financially by Koch Industries.

Back in February, Peter Stone first reported in the Huffington Post that a $10 million-a-year effort was proposed by a Koch Industries board member, James Mahoney, and Mr. Drevna, aiming “to boost petroleum-based transportation fuels and attack government subsidies for electric vehicles.” In early August, the Fueling U.S. Forward website launched, and on Saturday, the first public comments were made about the campaign by Mr. Drevna, and they revealed a lot about how the Koch-backed initiative is working to re-frame fossil fuels.

“We need a sustainable energy to ensure the future of the country,” Mr. Drevna told the audience.

The source of that energy? That which Mr. Drevna labeled “reliable, abundant, efficient and sustainable fuels.”

“Folks, that's of course the fossil fuels,” he immediately added.

Never mind that fossil fuels don't align with any dictionary definition of “sustainable,” as oil, gas and coal reserves are limited to what's buried in the ground, unlike renewable sources of energy. Technically speaking, fossil fuels are the opposite of sustainable energy sources — but that fact did little to slow Mr. Drevna down as he made what he called the “pro-human” case for burning fossil fuels.

The top line takeaway from Mr. Drevna's comments is that the Koch-funded Fueling U.S. Forward is an effort to rebrand fossil fuels, focusing on the “positive” sides of oil, gas and coal.

The new initiative comes at a time when the impacts of climate change are becoming more difficult to ignore. 2016 is already on track to be the hottest year ever recorded, a mid-year climate analysis from NASA reported, and unusual storms, like the torrential rainfall that struck the Gulf Coast over the past few days causing historic flooding, have become more frequent.

For its part, Fueling U.S. Forward wants to talk not about statistics, facts and figures, but to reach people's emotions.

“We've got to take this to the emotional and personal level,” Mr. Drevna, a former D.C. lobbyist and Sunoco executive, told the crowd. “Oil and natural gas, they're not the fuels of the past and maybe the present or a necessary evil. They are the future.”

In Peter Stone's investigation for Huffington Post, many familiar with the early workings of the project that would grow into Fueling U.S. Forward described it as an effort to bolster public opinion of fossil fuels and to combat electric vehicles.

Mr. Drevna's new organization appears for now largely focused on the first half of that equation. Asked after his talk if Fueling U.S. Forward planned to campaign against electric vehicles, Mr. Drevna said that his organization was focused on the positives of fossil fuels. He confirmed that he was working with Mr. Mahoney and that Fueling U.S. Forward had indeed received funding from Koch Industries.

Koch Vs. Clean

Koch Vs. Clean, a DeSmog microsite launched today, takes a closer look at the Koch network's efforts to promote the continued burning of fossil fuels and undermine clean energy innovations and electric vehicles, and the role that Mr. Drevna and a handful of others are playing in that offensive.

Throughout the day at Red State Gathering, panelists from Koch-linked organizations repeatedly cited Tesla Motors as an example of government subsidies gone awry, a talking point that seemed aimed to resonate with fiscal conservatives at the RSG 2016.

There's good reason for the oil industry to fear the rise of American electric vehicles. “Volkswagen AG, in an attempt to recover from its emissions-cheating scandal, has said it will create 30 new electric models within a decade,” E&E News recently reported. “General Motors Co. has invested $500 million in Lyft, the ride-hailing service, and intends for Lyft's drivers to pick up passengers in GM's new electric compact, the Chevrolet Bolt.”

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