Former chairman of Northern Rock and Conservative peer Viscount Matt Ridley has been accused of lobbying the UK government on behalf of the coal industry despite denials to the contrary. The Daily Telegraph reported that Lord Ridley, who is a former chair of the House of Lords committee investigating climate change, was paid £25,000 by British American Tobacco (BAT) in 2009 for his work as an The peer, who is on the advisory council of climate-sceptic think tank the Global Warming Policy Foundation, also expressed hostility to wind power in the email.
Former chairman of Northern Rock and Conservative peer Viscount Matt Ridley has been accused of lobbying the UK government on behalf of the coal industry despite denials to the contrary. An email from Ridley to Energy Minister Lord Bourne in April suggested a Texas-based company experimenting with turning CO2 emissions into chemical feed stocks could be of interest to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The peer, who is on the advisory council of climate-sceptic think tank the Global Warming Policy Foundation, also expressed hostility to wind power in the email.