Niger Innis

Credentials

Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science, Georgetown University (1990). [1]

Background

Niger Innis is the National Spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a group that has recently aligned itself with numerous conservative think tanks and "anti-environmental" organizations while maintaining a stance skeptical of man-made climate change. He is also the son of CORE National Chairman and CEO Roy Innis. CORE has received at least $325,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998, with some of these funds earmarked for "global climate outreach."[2], [1]

In addition to his role at CORE, Innis is a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Center for Public Policy Research Project 21. NCPPR has a number of ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a lobbying group that has helped model a variety of bills for special interest groups. More information on ALEC is available at the Center For Media and Democracy's ALEC Exposed project.

According to a Mother Jones article published by Chris Mooney, Niger Innis has said that the terms "eco-imperialism" and "eco-slaughter" should be household words. [3]

Stance on Climate Change

"[Climate change policies] are really just a way of raising the price of energy and forcing citizens to adopt a lower standard of living, rather than 'solutions' to climate change. We are extremely skeptical of the motivations behind these proposals, especially since these programs will almost certainly not result in any measurable change in future climates."[4]

Key Quotes

"[W]e must stop trying to protect our planet from every imaginable, exaggerated or imaginary risk. And we must stop trying to protect it on the backs, and the graves, of he nation's and world's most powerless and impoverished people."[5]

Key Deeds

September, 2009

At a luncheon talk at the Montana Petroleum Association annual meeting, Innis called for the production of "more of everything" including solar and wind power as well as "good old-fashioned fossil fuel.'' The Billings Gazette reported that Innis "blasted environmental groups - repeatedly calling them 'the green mafia'' - and the 'elite media'' saying they were trying to stop energy development."[6]

April 22, 2004

Niger Innis spoke at a Capitol Hill briefing on behalf of CORE, called "Eco-Imperialism: Reflections on Earth Day." Other speakers at the briefing included climate change skeptics Sallie Baliunas, American Enterprise Institute fellow Roger Bate, and Paul Driessen. [5]

"We intend to make this Earth Day a clarion call for human rights and more responsible environmentalism," Innis said.

May 29, 2002

Innis responded to a protest of ExxonMobil's history of human rights violations, and what protestors described as "deliberately deceiving the public by manipulating and misrepresenting solid science on global warming."

Niger Innis described the protestors as remnants of "the anarchists, socialists, communist types of the 1960's" and requested to testify on ExxonMobil's behalf. When the protestors refused, he described them as "arrogant" for opposing economic growth. [7]