Transparency for Big Oil and Coal? Not if They Can Help it

It doesn't take more than a glance at a country like Equatorial Guinea to see that wealth from natural resources tends to exclusively line the pockets of the government and the already rich.

But that doesn't have to be the case. Oil, gas and coal should boost the wealth of an entire nation — not just those at the top. Maybe that sounds like a too-utopian, Norway-like ideal. Increased transparency, though, to ensure that money from resources gets properly shared, can make this happen. And you can help.

A proposed amendment to the Senate's Wall Street reform legislation would require oil, gas and mining industries to disclose payments made to foreign governments in connection with energy projects in those countries. The amendment, proposed by Senators Ben Cardin and Dick Lugar, would increase transparency, helping to diminish corruption and in turn fight poverty. Meanwhile, the new law would benefit U.S. energy security by creating more stable energy partners for us around the globe.

In the wake of the BP oil spill, one might assume that passing legislation to change the way the oil industry does business would be a piece of cake. Surely big oil has lost all clout with Congress. Right?

Already, though, the American Petroleum Institute has lashed out against the idea — basically arguing that a law to discourage bribes would create a competitive disadvantage for U.S. companies. And as Adele Morris of the Brookings Institution notes, “We can’t underestimate the financial resources at the behest of the large oil companies, and accordingly, their influence on Capitol Hill."

But if you really delve into the amendment, you see that it applies to every oil, gas and mining company required to file reports to the SEC. That amounts to about 90% of the oil industry's major players, and eight out of ten of mining companies.

Nonetheless, there's no doubt that the industry will continue to kick and scream all the way to the Senate. That's where you come in.

Our friends at the One Campaign and Oxfam have already started campaigns to hold governments accountable for how they manage revenue from energy resources. Will you stand by poor communities in the global South and tell your Senator to support the Cardin-Luger amendment today?

Photo Credit: SioW