The world’s main oil and gas giants have known since “at least” the 1960s that fossil fuels would cause global warming but they persisted in denying it and even practiced disinformation, according to a report by American parliamentarians. “For more than half a century, ‘Big Oil’ has deceived the American public about its role in the climate crisis, doing everything in its power to keep the United States and the entire world dependent on their polluting products”, denounces the report of a commission of inquiry of elected Democrats from the House of Representatives, published Tuesday.
Obstruction and delay
“Big Oil” are the six giants and organizations scrutinized during this investigation launched in September 2021: ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP America, Shell, the American Petroleum Institute (API) – representative of the oil sector – and the Chamber of Commerce . “All six […] obstructed and delayed” this investigation by refusing to submit “despite subpoenas”, underlines the 65-page report entitled “Denial, disinformation, and doublespeak: evolving efforts of ‘Big Oil’ to avoid responsibility for climate change “.
After calling climate change a “hoax” and denying its very existence, the report notes, the oil sector was forced to “change its posture” in the face of science “which was becoming too overwhelming to continue to deny.” They then, he continues, “developed a campaign of deception and doublespeak – supported by an armada of professional organizations – by publicly claiming to support climate action but carrying out behind-the-scenes actions to avoid it” . And also, say the elected officials, affirming that natural gas was “safe” for the climate and that it could serve as “transition energy towards a future without fossil energy”.
Need to empower
“It is past time to hold ‘Big Oil’ accountable for its campaign of deception and take action to remedy the damage it has caused,” the report concludes. These are “old allegations that have already been addressed during Congressional hearings on this subject and during legal proceedings,” ExxonMobil responded to AFP.
“As we have said time and time again, climate change is real and an entire branch of our group is dedicated to reducing emissions – ours and those of others,” he continued, saying his budget annual was one-third that of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
For its part, an API spokesperson noted that the sector is “focused on providing reliable and affordable oil and gas to Americans while developing the next generation of low-emission technologies like hydrogen and CO2 capture. “Any suggestion to the contrary is inaccurate,” he said.
Already denounced
This is in fact not the first time that it has emerged that oil groups have known for several decades the harmful effect of fossil fuels on the climate. The subject was raised during hearings conducted by this parliamentary committee, before which the oil majors were notably put under the grill.
In January 2023, a study published in the journal Science revealed the remarkable accuracy of ExxonMobil scientists’ predictions of rising temperatures, some dating back to 1977. But, in 2000, the group’s CEO Lee Raymond claimed not to have “sufficient scientific understanding of climate change to make reasonable predictions.” Several legal proceedings have already been launched, notably against the company in the United States.