The @BrownUniversity @climatedevlab is investigating 10 #utilities historically dedicated to #climatedenial and opposing #climateaction. (1/8) 
These companies are part of a tight-knit historical cohort of #coal #rail and #utility companies, three carbon-intensive industries that have driven the extraction, transportation, generation of American #dirtyenergy. (2/8)
Our research found that many of the same large coal & rail companies have been doing business with the profiled utilities — again & again. (3/8)
Through membership, leadership, and funding of business associations, think tanks, and front groups, this elite industry cohort has coordinated on anti-climate efforts for decades. Climate denial groups including @Americaspower are dominated by this industry trio. (4/8)
Each utility’s emissions reductions plans initially appear ambitious, many planning to reduce emissions by 80% or more by 2050. (5/8)
Our analysis of these documents find that many utilities primarily plan to replace coal with #naturalgas as opposed to renewable energy, and rely heavily on not-yet-marketable technological solutions. (6/8)
While the utility industry’s transition away from coal may indicate historical coal-rail-utilities alliances fracturing, the outsized future reliance on natural gas & innovation demonstrated by many utilities calls the industry’s #decarbonization commitments into question. (7/8)
To learn more about the utility industry's role in the climate change counter movement, read the full report here: climatedevlab.brown.edu/home/brown-cdl… (8/8)
