The word “cartel” conjures images of backroom meetings of powerful business leaders. But the world’s most famous cartel, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is no secret. OPEC is an affiliation of leading oil-producing countries that manipulates the global supply of crude to boost profits. Ironically, the fossil fuel industry and the Republican politicians they support are trying to spin that epithet by claiming that “climate cartels” have arisen among financial institutions working to implement net zero goals.
Funded by the fossil fuel lobby, some Republicans are taking aim at climate alliances, like the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and Climate Action 100+, for allegedly violating antitrust laws. Although these threats have apparently led to several defections from the GFANZ insurance alliance, the claims are political theater: climate alliances like these are permissible under U.S. antitrust law.
