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2018-12-07 03:52:19 UTC
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https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/06/koch-commissioned-nera-study-aims-kill-electric-vehicle-tax-credit
Kochs Fund Study to Kill Electric Vehicle Tax Credit Via Same Group That
Defended Tobacco Industry
December 6, 2018 Ben Jervey
[images / Courtesy of Union of Concerned Scientists
Loading Image...
Koch Industries logo with 'not science' stamped over in red
Loading Image...
Koch-Funded Echo Chamber Echoes Koch-Funded Study
]
When Koch Industries needs a study to cast doubt on the benefits of electric
vehicles (EVs), where does it turn?
Unsurprisingly, to an industry-funded study mill that infamously produced a
key report defending the tobacco industry that was deployed by Philip Morris
in the 1990s, and which has since published studies commissioned by the
liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, the coal industry, and the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce [
https://www.desmogblog.com/2012/11/19/revealed-reuters-ids-nera-economic-consulting-third-party-contractor-doe-lng-export-study
].
As Congress debates whether to extend, end, or leave alone the federal EV
tax credit, a study critical of the incentive has been making the rounds in
conservative media outlets and Koch-affiliated free market advocacy groups.
The study, conducted and published by NERA (National Economic Research
Associates) Economic Consulting, was commissioned by Flint Hills Resources,
a refinery group and fuels marketing company that also happens to be a
wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries.
Predictably, Koch-affiliated and -funded groups are actively promoting the
study and calling for Congress to end the tax credit.
This week, the American Energy Alliance (AEA) issued a press release about
the study itself, quoting former Koch Industries lobbyist and current AEA
President Thomas Pyle. The group also delivered copies of the NERA study to
lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Meanwhile, The Daily Caller News Foundation shrieked that the study “warns
of dire consequences” if the EV tax credits are extended. The Daily Caller
News Foundation is funded almost entirely by Charles Koch's foundations.
An op-ed published last week that promoted the NERA study and argued for an
EV tax credit phase-out was penned by Phil Kerben, who has worked at one
Koch-funded organization after the next throughout his career — Americans
for Prosperity, the Cato Institute, and the Club for Growth — and is
currently the head of American Commitment.
Pyle and Kerben also both signed onto the latest in a series of letters from
a coalition of conservative free-market groups to House leaders, demanding
that Congress not lift the cap on EV tax credits, which originally limited
the credits to the first 200,000 cars per manufacturer. The letter is the
second from this coalition in as many months, and at least the third sent by
these groups this year.
The Koch Network's Last Ditch Attempt to Kill the EV Tax Credit
The aggressive deployment of this NERA study suggests an escalation in the
Koch-funded attack on the EV tax credit in the last few weeks of Republican
control of both chambers of Congress.
Koch Industries has publicly voiced its opposition to the EV tax credit,
routinely citing this NERA study and other fossil fuel-funded and roundly
debunked studies.
In October, Koch Industries lobbyist Philip Ellender sent a letter to
senators urging opposition to any expansion of the tax credit.
In November, Ellender issued another statement opposing any tax extender
packages, “especially” the EV tax credit. In this statement, the Koch
lobbyist referenced the NERA study, without noting that it was commissioned
by a Koch Industries subsidiary.
The Latest in a Long History of NERA's Industry-Funded 'Studies'
This script isn't new.
In the early 1990s, Phillip Morris hired NERA to produce reports that would
argue against the health benefits of smoking bans in restaurants and
workplaces. Another particularly egregious NERA report commissioned by
Phillip Morris found no connection between advertising and smoking rates,
providing tobacco companies with literature to argue against cigarette
advertising bans.
Foreshadowing today's deployment of NERA materials in an auto policy debate,
in 2001 a NERA study was used to fight against a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV)
mandate in California.
More recently, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was
finalizing the Clean Power Plan in 2014, NERA issued a report claiming that
Obama's signature climate plan would greatly increase electricity bills.
Despite the fact that the NERA study used faulty efficiency cost
assumptions, out-of-date renewable energy cost assumptions, and did not
include any economic benefits of efficiency and emissions reductions, the
study was regularly cited and parroted by media outlets, especially partisan
conservative platforms that promote unfettered fossil fuel development.
When the fossil fuel industry needs a study to cherry-pick stats and make
false assumptions in order to critique pollution regulations, they write a
check to NERA Economic Consulting.
This is cross-posted from [https://www.kochvsclean.com/936-2/]
[© desmogblog.com]
For EVLN EV-newswire posts use:
http://evdl.org/archive/
{brucedp.neocities.org}
--
Sent from: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/
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Please discuss EV drag
https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/06/koch-commissioned-nera-study-aims-kill-electric-vehicle-tax-credit
Kochs Fund Study to Kill Electric Vehicle Tax Credit Via Same Group That
Defended Tobacco Industry
December 6, 2018 Ben Jervey
[images / Courtesy of Union of Concerned Scientists
Loading Image...
Koch Industries logo with 'not science' stamped over in red
Loading Image...
Koch-Funded Echo Chamber Echoes Koch-Funded Study
]
When Koch Industries needs a study to cast doubt on the benefits of electric
vehicles (EVs), where does it turn?
Unsurprisingly, to an industry-funded study mill that infamously produced a
key report defending the tobacco industry that was deployed by Philip Morris
in the 1990s, and which has since published studies commissioned by the
liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, the coal industry, and the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce [
https://www.desmogblog.com/2012/11/19/revealed-reuters-ids-nera-economic-consulting-third-party-contractor-doe-lng-export-study
].
As Congress debates whether to extend, end, or leave alone the federal EV
tax credit, a study critical of the incentive has been making the rounds in
conservative media outlets and Koch-affiliated free market advocacy groups.
The study, conducted and published by NERA (National Economic Research
Associates) Economic Consulting, was commissioned by Flint Hills Resources,
a refinery group and fuels marketing company that also happens to be a
wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries.
Predictably, Koch-affiliated and -funded groups are actively promoting the
study and calling for Congress to end the tax credit.
This week, the American Energy Alliance (AEA) issued a press release about
the study itself, quoting former Koch Industries lobbyist and current AEA
President Thomas Pyle. The group also delivered copies of the NERA study to
lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Meanwhile, The Daily Caller News Foundation shrieked that the study “warns
of dire consequences” if the EV tax credits are extended. The Daily Caller
News Foundation is funded almost entirely by Charles Koch's foundations.
An op-ed published last week that promoted the NERA study and argued for an
EV tax credit phase-out was penned by Phil Kerben, who has worked at one
Koch-funded organization after the next throughout his career — Americans
for Prosperity, the Cato Institute, and the Club for Growth — and is
currently the head of American Commitment.
Pyle and Kerben also both signed onto the latest in a series of letters from
a coalition of conservative free-market groups to House leaders, demanding
that Congress not lift the cap on EV tax credits, which originally limited
the credits to the first 200,000 cars per manufacturer. The letter is the
second from this coalition in as many months, and at least the third sent by
these groups this year.
The Koch Network's Last Ditch Attempt to Kill the EV Tax Credit
The aggressive deployment of this NERA study suggests an escalation in the
Koch-funded attack on the EV tax credit in the last few weeks of Republican
control of both chambers of Congress.
Koch Industries has publicly voiced its opposition to the EV tax credit,
routinely citing this NERA study and other fossil fuel-funded and roundly
debunked studies.
In October, Koch Industries lobbyist Philip Ellender sent a letter to
senators urging opposition to any expansion of the tax credit.
In November, Ellender issued another statement opposing any tax extender
packages, “especially” the EV tax credit. In this statement, the Koch
lobbyist referenced the NERA study, without noting that it was commissioned
by a Koch Industries subsidiary.
The Latest in a Long History of NERA's Industry-Funded 'Studies'
This script isn't new.
In the early 1990s, Phillip Morris hired NERA to produce reports that would
argue against the health benefits of smoking bans in restaurants and
workplaces. Another particularly egregious NERA report commissioned by
Phillip Morris found no connection between advertising and smoking rates,
providing tobacco companies with literature to argue against cigarette
advertising bans.
Foreshadowing today's deployment of NERA materials in an auto policy debate,
in 2001 a NERA study was used to fight against a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV)
mandate in California.
More recently, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was
finalizing the Clean Power Plan in 2014, NERA issued a report claiming that
Obama's signature climate plan would greatly increase electricity bills.
Despite the fact that the NERA study used faulty efficiency cost
assumptions, out-of-date renewable energy cost assumptions, and did not
include any economic benefits of efficiency and emissions reductions, the
study was regularly cited and parroted by media outlets, especially partisan
conservative platforms that promote unfettered fossil fuel development.
When the fossil fuel industry needs a study to cherry-pick stats and make
false assumptions in order to critique pollution regulations, they write a
check to NERA Economic Consulting.
This is cross-posted from [https://www.kochvsclean.com/936-2/]
[© desmogblog.com]
For EVLN EV-newswire posts use:
http://evdl.org/archive/
{brucedp.neocities.org}
--
Sent from: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/
_______________________________________________
UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org
Please discuss EV drag