Unveiling Big Oil's Campaign of Lies

The fossil fuel industry has never been a part of the solution to the climate crisis, and new documents uncovered by a Congressional investigation spanning the last two years make that abundantly clear. On the contrary, Big Oil is actively fighting to maintain fossil fuels for decades to come. The United States Senate Committee on Budget recently held a hearing on Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil's Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change.

Ahead of the hearing, the committee published a joint bicameral congressional staff report detailing the depth of the fossil fuel industry's deception and campaigns to block climate action. Not only has the fossil fuel industry known about the causal relationship of greenhouse gasses and climate change since at least 1959, the industry has fought to block the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy the whole time. For over sixty years, the fossil fuel industry has chosen profit and shareholder value over people's lives. It is time for Big Oil accountability, and this joint investigation by the Senate Budget Committee and House Oversight Committee is just the beginning. Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said, "That's what this hearing is about, because what is protecting the massive fossil fuel subsidies and what is preventing policies to reduce the danger is the same thing: the fossil fuel industry itself." Here is a look at some key findings from the investigation:

Big Oil Knew

In 1959, nuclear scientist Edward Teller explained to a symposium hosted by the American Petroleum Institute that carbon dioxide emissions from burning oil would melt ice caps and raise sea levels. The fossil fuel industry later engaged in climate science research themselves, and in 1979 Exxon admitted that, "[t]he present trend of fossil fuel consumption will cause dramatic environmental effects before the year 2050." In the ensuing years, Exxon, its peers, and a collection of industry-funded front groups have waged marketing and lobbying campaigns to convince lawmakers and the public that the science behind climate change is not certain.

Fossil Fuel Industry Doublespeak

Multiple companies, including BP, Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips, have been actively deceiving the public about their commitment to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and net zero emissions by 2050. Internal documents produced to the House Oversight Committee reveal that BP went so far as to say that, "No one is committed to anything other than to stay in the game," the game being the development and production of the fossil fuels that they know are devastating communities and the climate. Earlier this year, BP announced that it would increase oil and gas production from 2024 through 2027.

Methane Gas Deception:

There is a widespread narrative by the fossil fuel industry that so-called "natural gas," or methane gas, is a clean energy source that will be a transition fuel as the world transitions to renewable energy. However, methane gas is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and it leaks throughout the supply chain. Despite publicly marketing gas as clean, BP internal documents revealed in the investigation that the company was certain in 2016 that, "Gas doesn't support climate goals when you take methane emissions into account." At the same time, BP was building plans to "advance and protect the role of gas - and BP - in the energy transition." This investigation makes clear that the fossil fuel industry has no intention for gas to be a "bridge fuel." The industry is working to position gas as a necessary counterpart to renewable energy, not a bridge fuel. Internal documents reveal that BP was prepared to spend $1.1 million in the first year of a campaign "highlighting [the] role of gas as a friend to renewables" that was being prepared in March of 2018.

The fossil fuel industry's work to paint methane gas as a "friend to renewables" is not without consequence. Senator Ben Ray Luján shared about the consequences of methane emissions for his constituents in New Mexico, explaining that satellite imagery revealed a methane plume over New Mexico because of emissions from oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin. The Senator shared that despite public commitments from fossil fuel companies to reduce methane emissions, methane plumes in the state continue to worsen resulting in poor air quality and sickness.

Peddling False Solutions:

In 2008, BP, Exxon and Shell announced plans to research and develop algae as a biofuel. Although untested at the time, the announcements signaled that fossil fuel majors were finally committing to the exploration of low-carbon fuel alternatives. Over a decade later, these plans have proven to be greenwashing schemes to portray a commitment to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. As the report states, "As of 2023, all companies ended their algae biofuels programs."

The report examines Exxon's algae program in particular. Exxon spent nearly $175 million advertising their research on algae while they spent only $350 million on the development of the algae technology that they were advertising. Internal communications from Exxon reveal that employees were cautioned against including any marketing that could suggest that algae biofuels were near scalability. One Exxon document entitled "Algae Biofuels Program Talking Points" openly admits that investment in the algae program lagged far behind where it would need to be to achieve market deployment, "ExxonMobil's analysis has concluded that final development and broad deployment of algae-based biofuels by the company would require future investments of billions of dollars."

Dark Money in Academic Institutions

According to the report, "Six fossil fuel companies, including BP, Chevron, Exxon, and Shell, spent an estimated $700 million on academic research programs between 2010 and 2020." Institutions that received funding from the fossil fuel industry tended to publish research that was more favorable to methane gas than to renewable energy. These companies have spent millions of dollars influencing some of the nation's leading academic institutions, including Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton University, Tufts University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of California (UC), Berkeley. These are just a few of the over 80 academic institutions that have received funding from the fossil fuel industry in recent years. Internal communications from Shell revealed their plans to "'embed' Shell scientists" at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, where Shell spent over $25 million over five years to fund the university's Biosciences Institute.

It's Time for Accountability

We've known for years now that the fossil fuel industry is responsible for blocking climate action and campaigning to cast doubt on climate science-the very same climate science that their own scientists have confirmed is accurate. This hearing uncovered even more findings that document their deceptions in the public record, but to what end? Ms. Sharon Eubanks, Former Director of the Tobacco Litigation Team in the U.S. Department of Justice, said in her testimony to the Senate Budget Committee that, "Big Oil is, frankly, the new Big Tobacco."

Senator Bernie Sanders asked Ms. Eubanks to weigh in on what legal grounds there are to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for knowingly deceiving the public about the climate catastrophe that fossil fuels would cause. In response, Ms. Eubanks said that provisions of the federal RICO statute (the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) could be used and that, "conspiracy is a good claim to look at."

Senator Sanders followed up, asking, "If you were Attorney General of the United States would you proceed in that direction?"

Ms. Eubanks responded, "I would. Yes. No question."

Big Oil lied for decades, and they are still actively leading deception campaigns and working to block the transition to renewable energy. They are infiltrating our economic institutions, lying to lawmakers and the public, and even pressuring journalists to kill stories that demonstrate the truth about fossil fuels and methane gas. It is past time for Big Oil to answer for its role in perpetuating a fossil fuel economy which is destroying communities, ecosystems and our climate.

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