Will the New York Times fix Lott’s failure?
Ex-Senastors Trent Lott and lobbying partner John Breaux wrote this op-ed in the NYTimes advocating for a CO2 tax.
But Lott and Breaux forgot to disclose that many of their clients support a CO2 tax. Here is a list of their clients.
The NYTimes seems to require that financial conflicts of interest be disclosed by op-ed writers.
Specifically:
Here’s a clearer statement by the NYTimes:
Lott and Breaux have also formed a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy group to lobby for a CO2 tax — Americans for Carbon Dividends. Although the group’s web site has a “Who Supports” link, if you click on it what you mostly see are links to media support for a CO2 tax — not the group’s financial backers.
Although (highlighted above) there is mention of the corporate-backed Climate Leadership Council backing a CO2 tax, the CLC is a different organization.
I have notified NYTimes op-ed editor Jim Dao about this failure. We’ll see what he does.
UPDATE: Since I posted this article, I have learned that Lott’s op-ed was supported by the solar, wind and nuclear power industries.
