America’s Competitors Will Use Supreme Court Ruling To Block Our Green Jobs Effort And Close Our Factories | OurFuture.org

America's Competitors Will Use Supreme Court Ruling To Block Our Green Jobs Effort And Close Our Factories | OurFuture.org

‘Saudi Arabia’s economy depends on oil exports so stands to be one of the biggest losers in any pact that curbs oil demand by penalizing carbon emissions. “It’s one of the biggest threats that we are facing,” said Muhammed al-Sabban, head of the Saudi delegation to U.N. talks on climate change and a senior economic adviser to the Saudi oil ministry. […] Climate talks posed a bigger threat, Sabban said, and subsidies for the development of renewable energy were distorting market economics in the sector, he said.” ‘

It will be interesting to see if the oil and gas corporations directly come after Green candidates in November and shape Congress in their image. I don’t think that is the Saudis’ style, but it is that of Exxon-Mobil and other energy giants. (The Saudis tend to lobby already-elected high officials behind the scenes rather than doing grassroots work, and in that way are the opposite of the Israel lobbies).

The other thing is that some Saudis have an interest in green energy, including the oil minister. Look up the Empty Quarter on google if you want to guess why. And, Saudi Arabia is moving forward with solar-powered water desalinization plants, which if they can be built and operated economically, might save the arid Middle East from decades of further warfare (Israel-Syria-Jordan, Yemen, Turkey-Iraq, etc. are all looming water wars waiting to happen if there isn’t such a breakthrough).

So it is not actually in the Saudis’ interest to prevent the USG from throwing research money at solar energy, since they will be able to produce a lot of it and continue to get rich from energy production, and because they need it themselves for effective water plants of the future.

But if I disagree about the supposed Saudi threat to US Green candidates, I acknowledge the justice of the anxiety. Justice Alito mouthed disagreement when President Obama pointed out that the Supreme Court had opened the door to international corporations to intervene in US politics. He made this gesture because the Court has not formally ruled on whether foreign corporations have US first amendment rights of “speech” (i.e. of making propaganda infomercials and paying for them to be shown on US television). But most US corporations have plenty of foreign stockholders and partners. And, you wonder about the American corporations who are based in the Caribbean as a tax dodge? Are they ‘American’ persons?

End/ (Not Continued)