Author | Lightnews

Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · 20h

Evraz is part owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. But the Trump appointee's ties to Russia didn't end there.

Read @climatereport.bsky.social and The Washington Post's story here ⬇️

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Trump nominee at U.S. export bank withdraws amid scrutiny of Russia ties

Bryce McFerran is a senior executive at a steel-trading business co-owned by one of Russia’s richest oligarchs and is married to a member of a Russian family with extensive ties to the Kremlin.

www.washingtonpost.com

Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · 20h

ICYMI | Trump's pick for a senior role at Exim withdrew from the nomination process just days before he was due to appear before the Senate last week.

Federal filings showed he'd spent most of the past decade working for a subsidiary of Evraz, the metals giant sanctioned by the UK in 2022.

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Apr 23

My latest for CCR and Rolling Stone ⬇️

Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com.web.brid.gy · Apr 23

Inside the Small Agency With a Grand Plan for Trump’s Global Energy Dominance

Briefing notes for the head of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency reveal how it’s working “in lock step” with the fossil-fuel industry to push gas to emerging markets

www.rollingstone.com

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Apr 23

Read it here! climate-reporting.org/ustda-plan-f...

Inside the small agency with a grand plan for Trump’s global energy dominance – Centre for Climate Reporting

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is working to push gas to emerging markets as part of Donald Trump’s plans for global energy dominance.

climate-reporting.org

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Apr 23

Latest for @climatereport.bsky.social w/ Rolling Stone

I wrote about a US agency you've probably never heard of and the quiet work it's doing to lay the groundwork for Trump's vision of American energy dominance globally

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Reposted by Ben Stockton

Centre for Climate Reporting @climatereport.bsky.social · Apr 23

NEW | How a small US government agency is planning to push US gas to emerging markets around the world, as part of Trump's energy dominance agenda.

climate-reporting.org/ustda-plan-f...

Inside the small agency with a grand plan for Trump’s global energy dominance – Centre for Climate Reporting

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is working to push gas to emerging markets as part of Donald Trump’s plans for global energy dominance.

climate-reporting.org

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Mar 19

ICYMI ✍️ I guest edited a newsletter for my alma mater @tbij.bsky.social the other week, looking at the impact of our work digging into COP28 conflicts of interest

⬇️ Read it and sign up for The Spark here!

Corporate Accountability @stopcorpabuse.bsky.social · Mar 18

What happens when the U.N. climate talks are hosted by a petrostate?

We join @benrst.bsky.social to reflect on #COP28, and how journalists and activists around the world are exposing #BigPolluters' stranglehold on climate policy in @tbij.bsky.social's latest newsletter.

Exposing a climate conference's biggest conflict

I've got the inside scoop on 2023's COP scandal from an old colleague at the Centre for Climate Reporting

the-spark-tbij.beehiiv.com

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Mar 19

www.transparency.org/en/press/tra...

Transparency International and Partners call for immediate action to…

Transparency International & 250+ groups urge COP30 to ban polluter lobbyists, boost transparency and ethics in climate talks.

www.transparency.org

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Mar 19

Transparency International and 250+ other organisations calling for "dramatic overhaul" of COP negotiations to protect them from the influence of high polluting industries

Fossil fuel industries and corporate lobbyists have long undermined the integrity of COPs, preventing effective climate action. Their heavy influence and privileged access to decision-makers shapes agendas and outcomes with previous host countries closely tied to the fossil fuel sector, and with observers and state delegations being packed with high polluter industry lobbyists. This has sidelined the urgent need for bold, science-driven climate action, turning COPs into platforms for fossil fuel diplomacy instead of advancing transformative climate policies.

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Mar 17

Read the story here: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Cop30 in talks to hire PR firm that worked for lobby seeking weaker Amazon protections

Revealed: Edelman worked for Brazilian trade group accused of pushing for environmental rollbacks in Amazon

www.theguardian.com

Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Mar 17

NEW by me for @climatereport.bsky.social / @theguardian.com

Edelman is in talks to work on the Cop30 climate summit being held in the Amazon. We dug into the agency's work developing a comms strategy for a Brazilian soy industry group seeking to weaken deforestation protections

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Mar 10

🎙️ ICYMI I was on Living on Earth talking about @climatereport.bsky.social's story with The Guardian on how US officials have been skipping climate meetings under Trump.

🔈 Listen here! www.loe.org/shows/segmen...

Working in international climate diplomacy? My Signal is benstockton.01

Living on Earth: US Ducks World Climate Meetings

The Trump Administration barred government scientists from attending a key UN climate science meeting in February 2025. What’s more, it seems the customary US task force including officials from the S...

www.loe.org

Reposted by Ben Stockton

Lawrence Carter @lawrencecarter.bsky.social · Feb 25

NEW | US officials appear to have missed a number of climate meetings since Trump took office, marking a potentially significant shift from his first term.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Story by @benrst.bsky.social & @theguardian.com

US officials have been absent from global climate forums during Trump 2.0

Exclusive: The ‘deeply troubling’ move comes amid concerns US ignoring international climate ramifications

www.theguardian.com

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Feb 25

US officials appear to have missed a number of climate meetings since Trump took office. Surprising? Perhaps not, but it marks a potentially significant shift from his first term.

NEW by me for CCR and The Guardian today www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

US officials have been absent from global climate forums during Trump 2.0

Exclusive: The ‘deeply troubling’ move comes amid concerns US ignoring international climate ramifications

www.theguardian.com

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Feb 17

Extinction Rebellion protesting outside McKinsey UK HQ after our story with the Guardian last year which dug into the extent of the firms work boosting fossil fuels worldwide. Five arrested so far, XR says.

Read it here: www.theguardian.com/business/202...

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Reposted by Ben Stockton

Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Feb 7

Heritage Foundation in 2016: "Musk and his companies (Tesla, among others) have had their share and benefitted from an array of government handouts in the forms of government loans and special tax breaks, all without any say from the taxpayer."

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Feb 7

Musk: "The federal loan was very helpful... what the government loan really did was accelerate our progress."

www.energy.gov/sites/prod/f...

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Feb 7

Heritage Foundation in 2016: "Musk and his companies (Tesla, among others) have had their share and benefitted from an array of government handouts in the forms of government loans and special tax breaks, all without any say from the taxpayer."

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Feb 7

Heritage Foundation in 2025: "We're celebrating at Heritage the first phases of the unearthing of the grift and corruption that has happened in this city... having someone with the success of Elon Musk be a partner in this is really good."
www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/...

Heritage Foundation Head Says Washington Needs 'Creative Destruction'

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts talks about how his organization's Project 2025 is influencing the Trump administration and Elon Musk government efficiency drive. (Source: Bloomberg)

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Ben Stockton

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse @whitehouse.senate.gov · Nov 23

More on McKinsey and its climate pretenses. Go Guardian.

Revealed: McKinsey clients had ‘rising share of global emissions’, internal analysis shows | Oil and gas companies | The Guardian

Consulting giant had said it engages with clients to help them transition to cleaner energy even as it knew they were in line to exceed climate targets

amp.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Ben Stockton

Lawrence Carter @lawrencecarter.bsky.social · Nov 21

REVEALED | Internal McKinsey forecasting found clients were set to bust global climate goals.

"We are serving a client portfolio that is likely on the 3 to 5 degrees warming... this portfolio contains more than half of the world's worst polluters."

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Revealed: McKinsey clients had ‘rising share of global emissions’, internal analysis shows

Consulting giant had said it engages with clients to help them transition to cleaner energy even as it knew they were in line to exceed climate targets

www.theguardian.com

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Nov 21

🚨NEW🚨

"We are serving a client portfolio that is likely on the 3 to 5 degrees warming trajectory… this portfolio contains more than half of the world's worst polluters."

Internal 2021 McKinsey forecasting found clients were set to bust climate goals

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Revealed: McKinsey clients had ‘rising share of global emissions’, internal analysis shows

Consulting giant had said it engages with clients to help them transition to cleaner energy even as it knew they were in line to exceed climate targets

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Ben Stockton

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Nov 20

‘A little dirty’: inside the secret world of McKinsey, the firm hooked on fossil fuels

Interviews and analysis of court documents show how the world’s most prestigious consulting firm quietly helps fuel the climate crisis Two giant, mirrored walls are set to rise out of the sands of the Arabian desert. They will run parallel for more than…

dlvr.it

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Nov 20

NEW | @hajmedd.bsky.social and I spent the last several months digging into McKinsey's work with its fossil fuel clients. Here's our story with the Guardian, ft. Koch Industries, China and a controversial Saudi government program to hook poor countries on oil www.theguardian.com/business/202...

‘A little dirty’: inside the secret world of McKinsey, the firm hooked on fossil fuels

Interviews and analysis of court documents show how the world’s most prestigious consulting firm quietly helps fuel the climate crisis

www.theguardian.com

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Ben Stockton @benrst.bsky.social · Oct 25

NEW: @amywestervelt.bsky.social and I dug into the PR machine that has worked with Al Jaber throughout his career and ultimately helped put an oil boss in charge of COP climate-reporting.org/al-jaber-cop...

Inside the campaign that put an oil boss in charge of a climate summit – Centre for Climate Report...

Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of the UAE’s national oil company, mobilized a PR army to secure the COP28 presidency despite concerns over his green credentials.

climate-reporting.org

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