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11 - Disclosure of Political Responsibility

The Case of Climate Change

from Section IV - Responsibility: Corporate Political Responsibility and Climate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2023

By
Magali A. Delmas  and
Henry L. Friedman
Edited by
Thomas P. Lyon
Thomas P. Lyon
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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Summary

Between 2006 and 2009, firms spent an estimated billion dollars lobbying on climate-related bills and issues. Although such spending is largely perceived as a strategy by industry to oppose regulation, recent research finds a U-shaped relationship between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lobbying expenditures (Delmas et al., 2016). These results suggest that both dirty and clean firms are active in lobbying, which challenges the view of adversarial corporate strategy. However, limitations on legal requirements for detailed disclosure make it impossible to hold companies accountable for their lobbying activity on specific issues. This chapter explores the existing disclosures, demand for additional disclosures by various stakeholders, and regulatory changes in process and on the horizon. Our discussion develops recommendations for enhanced disclosure of climate-related political activity, considering issues related to content, timing, disclosure users, disclosure regulators, and the value and role of third-party information intermediaries.

Keywords

Lobbyingdisclosuretransparencyclimate changepolitical activity
Type
Chapter
Information
Corporate Political Responsibility , pp. 310 - 352
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

Data Coding References

Center for Responsive Politics (CRP). 2014. Lobbying data. www.opensecrets.org/resources/create/data.php. Accessed 8/12/14.Google Scholar
Center for Responsive Politics. OpenSecrets Data Definitions for Lobbying Data. www.opensecrets.org/resources/create/data_doc.php. Accessed 8/12/14.Google Scholar
Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives. 2013. Lobbying Disclosure Act Guidance. http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/ldaguidance.pdf. Accessed 9/17/14.Google Scholar

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