Even Spanish Government Rejects Exxon Funded Author's Green Jobs "Study"

Over the course of the debate on the American Clean Energy and Security Act, we've seen multiple references from opposition to a dubious study on green jobs in Spain. The Wall Street Journal and many others have questioned the validity of the study, and have taken note of Mr. Calzada's ties to petroleum giant (and notable funder of global warming deniers) ExxonMobil.

Well, as of today, NRDC's Pete Altman reports that the government of Spain has joined the chorus of voices rejecting the "study."

Now a Spanish Government official has outlined the Spanish government's rejection of the conclusions found in Gabriel Calzada's "spanish jobs study" in a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman. As Teresa Ribera Rodriguez, Spain's Secretary of State for Climate and Minister of the Environment for Rural and Marine Affairs, says:

"We are surprised by the echoes that a paper signed by Gabriel Calzada on the effects of employment due to the promotion of renewable energy is having in the House of Representatives and the US Media...Although there are several studies of different sources that have analyzed the positive impact of renewable energy policies in terms of employment, and that would serve as answer, the Spanish Government would like to express its views."

Of the Calzada paper, Rodriguez says "data used in [the] analysis are totally out of keeping with the current reality of the sector," and that the analysis is "simplistic" and uses a "non-rigorous methodology."

Even as more and more organizations, media outlets, and countries pile on their skepticism of the Calzada study, it is oft-cited by members opposing the clean energy bill, as we saw as late as yesterday. And we're pretty sure we haven't heard the last of it.

After all, when real scientists don't support your position, there's always an ExxonMobil-funded author's study you can cherry-pick...