For years, NewsBusters has contended that Nobel Laureate Al Gore is spreading global warming hysteria to benefit his own wallet.
On Wednesday, despite claims by one of Gore's representatives two months ago, it was revealed that his Generation Investment Management private equity fund has taken a 9.5 percent stake in a company that has one of the largest carbon credit portfolios in the world.
Yet, on April 6, NewsBusters' Matthew Vadum reported [0] that in response to his The Media Ignore Al Gore's Planned Global Warming Profiteering [0] article, a GIM spokesman called his piece a "nonsense story" while claiming that neither Gore nor any other members of GIM’s board have the slightest financial vested interest in the expansion of carbon trading.
According to [1] Thomson Financial, that's now changed (emphasis added):
Generation Investment Management, the private equity fund chaired by former U.S. vice president Al Gore, has acquired a 9.5 percent stake in Camco International Ltd, a carbon asset developer.
Generation, set up in 2004 by Gore and David Blood, former chief of Goldman Sachs's asset management arm, now holds 16 million Camco shares, Camco said in a statement.
Camco, which has one of the world's largest carbon credit portfolios, works with companies to identify and develop projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and then arranges the sale and delivery of carbon credits.
Yet, on April 2, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported [2] the following concerning Vadum's allegations about Gore's global warming profiteering (emphasis added):
Richard Campbell, a spokesman for Generation Investment Management, called the suggestions a “nonsense story.”
In an e-mail message to The Chronicle, he writes that neither Mr. Gore nor any other members of the investment company’s board will make money from the expansion of carbon trading.
“To suggest then that they are somehow benefiting from the growth of this industry betrays a complete lack of knowledge of the carbon offset industry,” he writes.
That's not true anymore, is it Richard?
Of course, this is truly a fascinating development coming the very week Congress started debating a global warming bill which includes a carbon cap and trade scheme that would radically expand carbon trading and the use of carbon credits in this country.
Also interesting was Gore's support of this bill posted [3] at the Senate's Environment & Public Works website Monday:
"I want to commend Senator Boxer for her leadership of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Thanks to her vision and dedication, we have the first global warming bill in history that is comprehensive, bipartisan and that enjoys support across the country--from labor and agriculture to the business and the environmental communities. Of course the bill needs to be stronger, but it's vital that Congress begin to act. While it's important that people change their light bulbs, it's even more important that we change the laws."
Add it all up, and Gore's investment company now definitely DOES have a stake in carbon trading, and, therefore, additional financial incentive for the Nobel Laureate to spread global warming alarmism which results in government enacted legislation to counter it.
I'm sure every media outlet will be all over this development in the next 24 hours...not!
*****Update: Reuters has now reported [4] this, although conveniently ignoring the phrase "carbon credit." Regardless, now that a major wire service has addressed it, there's no excuse for other media not to. Stay tuned.