Fevered interest in looming legislation or regulation on climate change and energy has helped buoy the lobbying industry in these difficult financial times. The number of entities who are officially lobbying on climate change increased 31% in the second quarter of 2009, from 880 at the end of the first quarter to about 1,150 through June, according to an Aug. 10, 2009, Center for Public Integrity update. That reflects an increase of about 460 new entities, and a drop of 190 who had been registered.

• "Tally of Interests on Climate Bill Tops a Thousand." [2]

As with an earlier version of the Center's assessment, you can search their data available on the Web site above in numerous ways.

The interest groups include the usual suspects, such as energy companies, utilities, and agricultural businesses, as well as religious groups and higher education institutions.

The CPI overview draws some parallels between the lobbyists joining the fray prior to the House vote on a climate change bill in late June 2009 and the major changes that happened to the bill prior to the vote. You can do your own in-depth analysis of this kind of linkage by using CPI's data, as well as a number of other sources noted in the TipSheet of May 27, 2009. [3]

The Senate is expected to begin dueling over its version of climate change legislation in September 2009, setting the stage for additional intensive lobbying.