The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a
Washington, D.C.
)
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-based non-profit organization that, according to itself, conducts research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets.
IER maintains that the
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
provides the most "efficient and effective solutions" to "global energy and environmental challenges".
[
IER is often described as a ]front group
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gr ...
for the fossil fuel
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...
industry.[ It was initially formed by Charles Koch, receives donations from many large companies like ]Exxon
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
, and publishes a stream of reports and position papers opposing any efforts to control greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...
ses. Thomas Pyle, president of the IER and its offshoot American Energy Alliance (AEA), was appointed to the US Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United State ...
's transition team after the 2016 United States elections
The 2016 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, while Republicans retained control of Congres ...
.
History
The IER is the successor organization to the Institute for Humane Studies—Texas, a foundation established in 1984 by classical-liberalism advocate Greg Rehmke of the Institute for Humane Studies in Menlo Park, California, of which billionaire businessman and political donor Charles Koch. was a director. After failing to pay the Texas state franchise tax, IHST lost its charter in 1989, and was later rebranded as the Institute for Energy Research, or IER, under the presidency of Robert L. Bradley Jr.
Robert L. Bradley Jr. (born June 17, 1955) is CEO and founder of the Institute for Energy Research (IER). An expert in the history and political economy of energy and energy corporations, Bradley is a senior fellow at the American Institute for E ...
, the former director of public policy analysis for Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. ...
.
IER began by distributing quarterly reports to a small but growing list of donors in the early 1990s and eventually expanded its publishing capabilities to include highly publicized studies. It was not until 2001 when Bradley secured funding to make IER a full-time organization. In 2007, IER was moved to Washington, D.C. where it transformed itself into an energy think tank producing research and analysis on global energy markets.
In 2009, an article in ''Mother Jones'' magazine said IER was among the most prominent organizations questioning the existence and extent of anthropogenic climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
.
In 2016, Thomas Pyle, president of IER and AEA, was appointed to the US Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United State ...
's transition team after the 2016 United States elections
The 2016 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, while Republicans retained control of Congres ...
. On 15 November, he delivered a memo entitled "What to Expect from the Trump Administration" which has been described as a "fossil fuel industry wish list". It called for withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...
, overturning the Clean Power Plan, opening federal lands to exploitation for coal and oil development, and rolling back CAFE
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
fuel economy standards.
Leadership
The Institute's CEO and founder, Robert L. Bradley Jr.
Robert L. Bradley Jr. (born June 17, 1955) is CEO and founder of the Institute for Energy Research (IER). An expert in the history and political economy of energy and energy corporations, Bradley is a senior fellow at the American Institute for E ...
, is a senior fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research
The American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) is a libertarian think tank located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1933 by Edward C. Harwood, an economist and investment advisor. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
History ...
and Energy & Climate Change Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further t ...
in London. He has written eight books, including ''Energy: The Master Resource''; ''Climate Alarmism Reconsidered''; and ''Edison to Enron''. His former affiliations were with George Mason University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
.
Funding
IER is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and is funded by tax deductible contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations.[ IER has received funding from the Brown Foundation (started by founders of a construction and energy company), the ]Searle Freedom Trust
The Searle Freedom Trust is a 501(c)(3) grant-making foundation located in the United States. It was established by business executive Daniel C. Searle in 1998. As of 2017, the trust had an endowment of $141 million.
Origins
Searle considered h ...
and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation. They have also previously received funding from ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
, the American Petroleum Institute
The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in production, refinement, distribution, and many other aspects of the pet ...
, the Center to Protect Patient Rights,[ and Peabody Energy.] IER says that it has not sought for or accepted financial support from the government.[
IER has been described as a ]front group
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gr ...
for the fossil fuel industry, since it has accepted financial donations from firms in that sector.[
]
American Energy Alliance
The Institute for Energy Research has a political arm, the American Energy Alliance (AEA). According to its website, "AEA’s mission is to enlist and empower energy consumers to encourage policymakers to support free market policies. €¦Energy consumers, not bureaucrats, should decide the mix between various sources of energy. The tax code should not be used to pick energy winners and losers."
In 2009, AEA ran television advertisements in opposition to the American Clean Energy and Security Act
The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) was an energy bill in the 111th United States Congress () that would have established a variant of an emissions trading plan similar to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme. The bil ...
, also known as the Waxman Waxman, or alternatively Wachsmann, is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Al Waxman (1935–2001), Canadian actor
* Alois Wachsman (1898–1942), Czech painter and architect
* Bedřich Wachsmann (1820–1897), Czech painter and ar ...
- Markey Bill, that proposed an emissions trading
Emissions trading is a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). Carbon emission t ...
plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
in order to address climate change
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels b ...
.[
In 2013, AEA provided an online petition to U.S. Secretary of State ]John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
regarding the U.S. federal government administration's approval of the Keystone XL
The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Albert ...
pipeline extension. AEA supports approval of the pipeline.[
]
The AEA opposes a Wind Production Tax Credit.[
]
See also
*Robert P. Murphy
Robert Patrick Murphy (born May 23, 1976) is an American economist. Murphy is Research Assistant Professor with the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University. He has been affiliated with Laffer Associates, the Pacific Research Institute, ...
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Climate change denial
Energy in the United States
Organizations established in 1989
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Energy research institutes
Koch network