"For decades, corporations have known that, if they lobby for their own interests, public opinion won't take them seriously," begins the Independent's article on the "most influential" third party groups [3] that have aligned with businesses to oppose action [4] on climate change [5]. They include the Congress of Racial Equality [6], once "the 'shock troops' of the civil rights movement" but, after accepting funding from ExxonMobil [7] "to assist with 'global climate outreach'," now notorious for shouting down "environmentalists picketing an Exxon Mobil shareholders meeting." Other U.S. groups are the conservative think tanks [8] the Competitive Enterprise Institute [9] and Heritage Foundation [10], the American Petroleum Institute [11], and Dick Cheney [12]'s National Energy Policy Development Group [13], which, "despite the energy sector's record profits," successfully pushed "a $20bn handout to oil, coal and nuclear industries." British groups on the list include the Scientific Alliance [14], Supporters of Nuclear Energy, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Confederation of British Industry [15].