Who says ‘offshore wind kills whales’ and why?
Funded by Big Oil and Coal, the co-ordinated disinformation and astroturfing against offshore wind development is a trans-national project of the Atlas Network. (Submission no. 297)

Walker, Jeremy

doi:10.71741/4pyxmbnjaq.28621169.v1

Who says ‘offshore wind kills whales’ and why? Funded by Big Oil and Coal, the co-ordinated disinformation and astroturfing against offshore wind development is a trans-national project of the Atlas Network. (Submission no. 297)

https://doi.org/10.71741/4pyxmbnjaq.28621169

report

posted on 2025-07-24, 05:20 authored by Jeremy WalkerJeremy Walker

<p dir="ltr">This submission addressed to the Senate builds on my September 2023 submission to DECEEW Proposed offshore wind area Big Oil, Whales and Offshore Wind: Fossil-funded Atlas Network 'think-tank' disinformation is driving misinformed community opposition to the Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone, as well as my peer-reviewed publications. My research findings have been widely quoted in Australian and international news sources such as ABC Radio National, NITV-SBS, TVNZ’s Mata Reports, the Washington Post, and the New Republic</p>

Funding

Commissioned by: Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications

History

Related Materials

1.
URL - Is published in Published Version of Record

Publisher

Australian Parliament House

Place of publication

Canberra ACT

Pagination

1-13

Parent Report/Inquiry Name

Offshore wind industry consultation process.

Report or Submission Number

Submission no.297

Commissioning body

Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications

Research statement

This submission demonstrates that the highly professional and well financed disinformation and astroturfing campaign against the Australian Government's planning for major offshore wind power development is an extension of the same campaign operating in the US and around the world, conducted by the same organisations, with the same methods. It is to the little-known Atlas Network (of 550+ 'thinktanks in 100 nations, coordinated by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation (trading as Atlas Network) based in Arlington, Virginia USA, and to its fossil fuel derived wealthholders and MNC investors, that we can almost invariably trace efforts to deceive the public about climate science, to manipulate public opinion and elections against effective climate policy and clean energy rollout, to capture key public institutions and governments, and to obstruct, delay, repeal or defeat public interest legislation, regulation and international laws and treaties intended to protect us from the unstoppable and irreversibly catastrophic effects of fossil fuel combustion. The submission includes 4 supporting peer-reviewed research articles, a revealing right of reply from Adam Weingberg of the Atlas Foundation (USA), and the authors extensive reply to Weinberg/Atlas USA.