Sierra Club donations from Chesapeake Energy
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
From 2007 the Sierra Club received about 26 million dollars from the head of gas producer Chesapeake Energy and associated people for its campaign against coal. The club later refused a further 30 million dollars.
Sources vary between "over $25 million" and $26.1 million.
Status As of the latest dated source reviewed (2016): donations reported as ended; no ruling or investigation found.
- Sierra Club — Funding for its Beyond Coal campaign. MIT Technology Review
- Chesapeake Energy — A campaign against coal, a rival fuel to natural gas.
What happened
From 2007 the Sierra Club, a US environmental organisation, received donations of about 26 million dollars from Chesapeake Energy's chief executive and associated individuals, according to MIT Technology Review. The money went to the club's campaign against coal-fired power, known as Beyond Coal.
Natural gas is described in the sources as the rival fuel to coal. In the same period the club's executive director, Carl Pope, defended gas as a bridge fuel, and made joint promotional trips with the company's chief executive, according to the sources reviewed.
The sources report that the club later stopped taking the gas money and turned down a further 30 million dollars. The dates given for the period of donations vary between sources, from 2007–2010 to 2007–2012.
The amount is reported differently across sources: "over 25 million dollars" in some and 26.1 million dollars in others.
- 2007Donations from Chesapeake Energy's chief executive and associates to the Sierra Club begin
- 2010Reported date on which the Sierra Club stopped accepting the gas money (reported; not independently verified)
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
About 26 million dollars, with a further 30 million dollars refused.
MIT Technology ReviewHow it looked
Shown
- Natural gas as a "bridge fuel" between coal and renewable energyAmerican Gas Association, in 1981 and 2008; later defended by Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, during the donation period
Recorded
- Donations of about 26 million dollars from Chesapeake Energy's head and associates for the club's anti-coal campaign; a further 30 million dollars was refused.
- Sources give the total as "over 25 million dollars" and as 26.1 million dollars.
- A 2011 study by Howarth and colleagues argued that methane leakage weakens the bridge-fuel argument.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Accounts
- Disputed How much did the Sierra Club receive?
Record
- None on record The exact total is not settled: sources give "over 25 million dollars" and 26.1 million dollars.
- Insufficient The year in which the club stopped the donations is reported as 2010 in some sources and the record is given as 2007–2012 in others; the Sierra Club's own statement on the matter was reported but not independently verified.
- None on record No response from Chesapeake Energy is on record in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
The sources report that the club stopped the donations and refused a further 30 million dollars; the date is given as 2010 in some sources.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Press and investigations
- How Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon helped push coal to the brinkMIT Technology Review · 2016-03-03
Connected cases
- Bloomberg, Steyer and Bezos money shapes coal and nature campaigns United States · 2008–2026
- Sierra Club (NGO) — here: Recipient; environmental organisation; there: Environmental group running the Beyond Coal campaign with Bloomberg funding
- US SEC switches oil reserve pricing to a 12-month average in 2008 United States · 2008–2021
- Chesapeake Energy (Company) — here: Natural gas producer whose head and associates gave the money; there: reported price-driven reserve fall in 2015