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Companies Pushing Weak UN Plastics Treaty Dump Millions Into US Elections
"The only way to curb our catastrophic plastic pollution problem is to cut plastic production, but the industry is spending big to block action at every level to protect their profits," said one campaigner.
Nov 17, 2023
Major multinational corporations attending negotiations for a global plastics treaty in an effort to weaken the agreement spent tens of millions of dollars on lobbying and political contributions during the 2022 election cycle, revealed an analysis published Friday by the Center for Biological Diversity.
As Common Dreams reported this week, 143 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists registered to attend the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) in Nairobi, Kenya, which is scheduled to run through Sunday. That's more than the combined delegations from 70 nations, and far surpasses the 38 members of a scientists' coalition participating in the negotiations.
Representatives of companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Dow are among the registered attendees. Industry lobby groups representing hundreds of companies are also attending the talks, including the American Chemistry Council, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, and the International Council of Beverages Associations.
"These companies came to Nairobi to make sure the world doesn't get strong protections against the plastic havoc they've been wreaking."
With over $20 million spent on lobbying and campaign contributions during the 2022 election cycle, the American Chemistry Council topped the Center for Biological Diversity's (CBD) list, which is based on data from the government watchdog group OpenSecrets. Boeing spent more than $17 million, while Chevron shelled out nearly $15 million.
"These companies came to Nairobi to make sure the world doesn't get strong protections against the plastic havoc they've been wreaking," David Derrick, a CBD attorney attending INC-3, said in a statement. "We knew that industry had way too much influence over the global plastics treaty as well as our political system at home, but these dollar amounts highlight how far petrochemical and consumer goods companies will go to keep polluting."
INC-3 is focused on the so-called zero draft of the legally binding plastics treaty. On Thursday, the fourth day of talks, delegates completed a first reading of the zero draft, with participating nations submitting suggestions for what they believe should be included in the treaty's first draft, which will be the basis of negotiations at INC-4, scheduled to take place next October and November in Ottawa, Canada.
Susan McCarthy, media and external affairs director at World Wildlife Fund U.S., said that "what is worrying... is the voluminous amount of suggestions that member states have submitted."
"This creates the temptation for member states to veer towards compromises that have the potential of watering down the eventual treaty in an effort to include as many suggestions as possible," she continued. "Whittling down a massive list to a number of key priorities can also be onerous, and can result in the convergence we're seeing now fragmenting as member states push for their suggested items."
"Fragmentation can occur as different member states may have different priorities, such as political affiliations or a preference to base decisions only on scientific evidence, which could drive the decision-making process in opposing directions," McCarthy added.
Derrick asserted that "the only way to curb our catastrophic plastic pollution problem is to cut plastic production, but the industry is spending big to block action at every level to protect their profits."
"The world has a historic chance to make a difference in the relentless flood of plastic pollution that's harming so many," he added. "We can't let a relatively small number of profit-hungry companies derail such an important opportunity to fix our plastic problem at its source."
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Despite Soaring Profits, 19 Fortune 100 Companies Paid Little-to-No Taxes in 2021
"Corporations are looting America," said former Labor Secretary Robert Reich.
Apr 27, 2022
In a year when many U.S corporations enjoyed record-breaking profits, some of the wealthiest companies in the nation paid little-to-no taxes according to a new analysis--or even accepted tax refunds--while working Americans continued paying their normal tax rates and faced rising prices for essentials.
"These are some of the largest companies in the world, pulling in billions of profits; yet none will owe a cent in federal income taxes."
That's according to a Center for American Progress (CAP) analysis released Tuesday that found 19 Fortune 100 companies paid effective tax rates in the single digits, if they paid anything at all.
The highest-earning Fortune 100 company, JPMorgan Chase, reported pre-tax earnings of $48.2 billion in 2021, but paid less than 6% in federal taxes despite an official corporate tax rate of 21%.
Amazon.com, which earned $35.1 billion in the U.S. in 2021, paid only 6.1% in federal taxes--all while its growth in profits over the past two years outpaced the wages the company paid its 1.1 million U.S. workers and while the company spent more than $4 million on union-busting to fend off organizing efforts at its warehouses.
"Corporations are looting America," said former Labor Secretary Robert Reich in response to CAP's report.
\u201c19 companies on the Fortune 100 list paid little to no federal income taxes last year.\n\nIn the case of AT&T and three other companies, some even paid less than zero in federal income tax.\n\nMeanwhile, corporate profits hit a 70-year high in 2021.\n\nCorporations are looting America.\u201d— Robert Reich (@Robert Reich) 1651011376
As Reich noted, CAP's analysis showed that four Fortune 100 companies--AT&T, Charter Communications, American International Group (AIG), and Dow--will receive an income tax benefit, or refund, instead of paying taxes for 2021.
After earning $29.6 billion in 2021, AT&T reported a tax refund of $1.2 billion. Charter Communications reported a refund of $12 million after earning $6 billion, AIG will receive $216 million from the federal government despite $9.8 billion in earnings, and Dow will receive $46 million after earning $1.5 billion.
"These are some of the largest companies in the world, pulling in billions of profits; yet none will owe a cent in federal income taxes," wrote Ryan Koronowski, Jessica Vela, Zahir Rasheed, and Seth Hanlon at CAP. "As their investor filings show, many corporations pay a much lower actual--or 'effective'--rate on their profits because of the many ways they can reduce their taxable income under the current tax system. The low tax rates for these companies worsen an already unjust increase in inequality."
Of the Fortune 100 companies that actually paid taxes in CAP's analysis, UPS paid the highest tax rate at just 9.9%--still well below the tax rate established by President Donald Trump's so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). General Motors paid the lowest tax rate, paying 0.2% in federal taxes on $9.4 billion in earnings.
"Policymakers must act now to ensure that large, profitable corporations pay their fair share."
Large companies outside the Fortune 100 also managed to avoid paying taxes despite earning billions in 2021, according to the report. Software company Salesforce earned $2.7 billion but effectively paid $0 in federal income taxes, Duke Energy paid effectively no taxes on $3.7 billion in U.S. earnings, and Netflix paid an effective tax rate of just 1.1% on 5.3 billion in earnings.
"Is anyone else tired of paying more in taxes than corporations making billions of dollars?" asked political advocacy group Progress Iowa.
CAP cited two other reports showing how the wealthiest U.S. companies are avoiding taxes despite soaring profits. The financial data company FactSet collected data showing that S&P 500 corporations' four most profitable quarters happened in 2021, while the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) conducted an analysis "concluding that former President Donald Trump's TCJA allowed many companies to pay $0 in taxes."
The group noted that with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, the Democratic Party could change the status quo and ensure wealthy corporations pay their fair share in taxes, as President Joe Biden tried to last year by proposing a 15% minimum corporate tax and measures to stop corporate tax dodging as part of the Build Back Better Act.
"Polls show that raising taxes on corporations is among the most popular elements of President Biden's economic agenda," said CAP. "Policymakers must act now to ensure that large, profitable corporations pay their fair share."
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Biden EPA Lining Up With Chemical Industry Against Push to Curb Microplastics: Greenpeace
"While you might expect Trump's EPA to align with the oil and chemical industry against protections for the American people from potentially harmful plastic chemicals, the Biden administration must do better."
Jun 28, 2021
A Greenpeace investigation revealed Monday that the Biden administration appears sympathetic to oil and chemical industry giants--not the public, scientists, and public health advocates--regarding a push in Europe to curb the use of microplastics in everyday products.
According to a report by Unearthed Greenpeace UK's investigative journalism unit, a senior policy advisor at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named Karissa Kovner exchanged emails with the American Chemical Council (ACC) in April 2019 regarding a proposal by the Swiss government to list microplastic UV-328 in the Stockholm Convention, the U.N.'s global treaty on chemicals that don't easily break down in nature.
"As much of the world works to take action to address the impacts of the plastic pollution crisis, the U.S. government should be stepping forward to lead, not echoing the world's worst polluters."
--John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA
UV-328's inclusion in the treaty would lead to a ban on its production and use, which is currently common in plastic products, rubber, paints, coatings, and cosmetics, said Unearthed.
ACC officials forwarded an email to Kovner about the proposal, to which she said, "Wow-- that's quite a precedent. Holy moly."
The ACC then told Kovner the Swiss government's push is the "first concrete proposal" to label UV-328 as a persistent organic pollutant (POP).
"Welcome to our future," Kovner said.
Kovner's comments were made when she was serving under former President Donald Trump, but she appears to still be leading the EPA's work on chemicals under Biden; in late March she represented the EPA as a senior policy advisor for international affairs at the ACC's GlobalChem conference.
"While you might expect Trump's EPA to align with the oil and chemical industry against protections for the American people from potentially harmful plastic chemicals, the Biden administration must do better," said John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA oceans campaign director. "As much of the world works to take action to address the impacts of the plastic pollution crisis, the U.S. government should be stepping forward to lead, not echoing the world's worst polluters."
The microplastic that Kovner, the ACC, and the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) expressed concern about regulating has been classified as a substance of very high concern because it persists in the environment and accumulates in organisms.
v> Microplastics have been detected in oceans; birds' eggs and minks' vital organs in the Arctic, sparking fear among Indigenous communities there that it could affect them as well; raindrops; household items; and human breast milk.
"We are no longer just poisoning the environment with our waste--we are poisoning ourselves. This is more than a solid waste or ocean pollution crisis. It is now an environmental justice, international human rights, climate, and public health issue."
--Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.)
Scientists say more research is needed to determine UV-328's effects on human health, but many have raised concerns about its persistence in the environment.
"The assumption is that if a chemical doesn't degrade, we are altering our environment in a permanent way and we shouldn't be doing that," said Laura Vanenberg, a professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst. "When we start finding chemicals in human breast milk, it is not good. It means it is going into babies during vulnerable developmental periods."
Although the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) concluded in 2014 that UV-328 meets its toxicity criteria and that long-term exposure can have impacts on vital organs including the liver or kidneys, chemical trade groups have argued that pollution linked to the microplastic may have come from other sources and that there has not been "sufficient rate of transfer to remote areas."
Kovner said last year that the EPA and chemical trade groups "felt differently" than many scientists regarding "long-range transport" of UV-328--one of five criteria showing a chemical qualifies as a POP and should be listed in the Stockholm Convention.
The EPA official was echoing a claim made by CEFIC in April 2019, when it argued at length to the ECHA that long-range transport of UV-328 has not been proven and that the microplastic should not be banned without such proof.
"The industry is basically saying that until they have polluted enough--until they have created a big enough problem--we can't do anything about it," said Vandenberg.
Dr. Zhanyun Wang, a senior scientist at ETH Zurich and a member of the Stockholm Convention's scientific committee, said scientists and policymakers must work with the data they have to make regulatory decisions.
"We don't have to stop everything [with regards to regulation] until we have very solid scientific evidence," Wang told Unearthed. "There is concern about the continued releases and accumulation of this chemical in the environment and organisms, which could cause long-term, poorly mitigable, adverse effects on biodiversity, ecosystem services or human health."
Oil and chemical giants including ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Ineos, BP, and Shell are among those represented by the trade groups Kovner appeared to align herself and the EPA with.
Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), who along with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) reintroduced legislation regarding plastic pollution in March, told Unearthed that the Biden administration "must seek to lead on this issue domestically and internationally to address the issue associated with the production, disposal, and waste of plastics."
"We are no longer just poisoning the environment with our waste--we are poisoning ourselves," said Lowenthal. "This is more than a solid waste or ocean pollution crisis. It is now an environmental justice, international human rights, climate, and public health issue."
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