NGOs call for FCTC as model for fossil fuel industry

Several European environmental NGOs are calling on the European Union to treat the fossil fuel industry like the tobacco industry, by severely restricting interactions between companies and policy makers. This call demonstrates that the global fight against tobacco, particularly through the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, is at the forefront of controlling and regulating so-called "controversial" industries.

Four environmental NGOs, including Friends of the Earth Europe and the Corporate Europe Agency, have revealed that the six major oil and gas companies, and five associated lobby groups, have lobbied the European Commission extensively since the Paris climate agreement in 2015. However, since the European Commission is responsible for proposing and implementing EU policies, it is in charge of drafting EU energy and climate legislation.[1].

The proximity of fossil energy lobbyists to European decision-makers

The study conducted by the NGOs highlights that 71 former ministers and senior officials now work for these six oil and gas companies, allowing the industrialists to benefit from a valuable address book to gain influence with the decision-makers currently in place. Furthermore, since 2015, the researchers have shown that these companies have obtained 568 meetings with senior officials of the European Commission, and have spent more than 170 million euros in six years lobbying for the European Union. For the heads of environmental protection organizations, the porosity between public decision-makers and the gas and oil sector is a direct threat to the implementation of binding and effective regulations, aimed in particular at limiting the impact of climate change.

The FCTC, a regulatory model to reduce the influence of the fossil fuel sector

According to Myriam Douo, campaign manager at Friends of the Earth, most interactions between policy makers and lobbyists should not be allowed.[2]. The organization thus calls on those responsible to draw inspiration from what already exists, in particular from the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Indeed, this treaty requires Parties to limit these interactions to what is strictly necessary, making it possible to partially reduce the influence of the tobacco industry, and to participate in the denormalization of an industry responsible for eight million deaths each year. However, if progress has been achieved thanks to the FCTC, the institutions of the European Union are the target of an intense lobbying effort by the tobacco industry.

Useful tobacco control expertise to regulate certain sectors

The call by organizations to draw inspiration from the FCTC recalls that the tobacco industry was a pioneering player in the thinking and implementation of disinformation and lobbying practices contrary to the general interest, subsequently taken up by several so-called "controversial" industries, such as the fossil fuel, alcohol and even agri-food industries. As a corollary, anti-tobacco stakeholders have thus developed expertise and regulatory tools that can be transposed to the control of other sectors that are potentially dangerous for the achievement of sustainable development objectives, such as health or the environment.

Keywords: CCLAT, lobbying, NGOs

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[1] Corporate Europe, Stop the revolving door: fossil fuel policy influences, 10/25/2021, (accessed the same day)

[2] The Guardian, Shun fossil fuel firms by treating them like tobacco industry, EU urged, 10/25/2021, (accessed the same day)

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