The Alliance’s “Strategist” Problem: From Spiritual Retreat to Statehouse Lobbying

I promised it gets more weird. Here you go!

Louisiana CO2 Alliance wants to be seen as a serious policy organization fighting against the Louisiana oil and gas industry. It presents itself as a coalition of parishes and lobbyists, protecting Louisiana’s water, land, and communities.

But credibility matters. And Louisiana CO2 Alliance has a credibility problem.

The group is managed by lobbyist Renee Savant. According to reporting, Savant was hired through Allen Parish and paid on a schedule: an initial fee, then quarterly payments. She testified in support of bills limiting carbon capture and sequestration.

That already raises a question: if this is a “grassroots citizen movement,” why is it being run by a paid strategist tied to parish government spending?

But the deeper issue is the résumé mismatch. Until last year, Savant was reportedly an “holistic healer” at the “Rose Marie Spiritual Retreat,” describing herself as a “head visionary and land keeper.” Now she is running the political strategy for a nonprofit influencing Louisiana’s energy policy, regulatory framework, and high-dollar industrial projects.

To be clear: people can change careers. But Louisiana citizens should be able to ask whether someone with that background is qualified to lead a policy campaign that claims to be based on “expert analysis, research, and strategic support.”

The Alliance claims membership provides access to a “wealth of resources,” including expert research. Yet, much of the public messaging relies on emotionally loaded language, like calling CCS “poison,” and framing Exxon as a villain in a “David and Goliath” story.

Even more troubling, Savant launched a news-style website in September 2025 called CO2 Chronicles, promising “deep-dive investigations” into CCS and state politics. That creates an obvious conflict: the same person running a lobbying campaign is also positioning herself as a journalist…

When activism, lobbying, and “news” all run through the same pipeline, the public loses something essential: trust.

If Louisiana CO2 Alliance wants to be taken seriously, it needs more than outrage and branding. It needs transparency, qualifications, and clear separation between advocacy and media.

Next up, we explore local conflicts of interest.