The Biden administration finds itself under scrutiny for entrusting a critical component of its climate agenda to a foreign non-profit organization linked to a prominent left-wing financial network.
Climate agenda outsourcing
The controversy stems from President Biden’s announcement late last year where he outlined plans for federal contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, divulge climate-related financial risks, and establish emissions reduction targets. The administration’s choice of a regulatory partner has ignited a firestorm of criticism.
The regulations, it turns out, will heavily rely on criteria set by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a United Kingdom-based organization with connections to funding streams that some have labeled “dark money.”
House Science, Space, and Technology Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Jay Obernolte did not mince words during a recent hearing: “The federal government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers. However, that is exactly the case in this instance.”
He points out that the White House failed to conduct a competitive selection process before choosing SBTi as the arbiter of federal contractors’ emissions targets under the proposed rule. Moreover, documents shared with the committee by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) indicate that SBTi leaders had only met with the White House twice and had not submitted any documentation before being selected.
Reducing emissions and transparency
Representative Claudia Tenney, a New York Republican and member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, expressed her apprehension, saying, “The Biden administration has proposed forcing companies to use SBTi, as opposed to any other climate group, to support their left-wing dark money laundering scheme.”
The controversy serves as a reminder that the battle against global warming in the climate agenda is not just about reducing emissions but also about the transparency, fairness, and legality of the methods employed to achieve that goal. As the debate rages on, it remains to be seen whether this partnership will withstand the scrutiny it currently faces.
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