Democratic lawmakers in the US lambasted oil majors in a new report on Tuesday (30 April), claiming that the industry has engaged in “an elaborate campaign of deception and doublespeak” to forestall meaningful climate action and sustain their outsized profits.
The report marks the completion of an investigation started nearly three years ago by Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, which subpoenaed documents from ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, the American Petroleum Institute, and the US Chamber of Commerce.
The report, which was produced in conjunction with Democrats on the Senate’s budget committee, accused oil companies of a range of misdeeds, such as offering public support for the Paris climate agreement while internally acknowledging their business models were at odds with such a scenario.
It also said the oil companies erroneously touted gas as a bridge fuel to a cleaner future while ignoring its significant climate impacts; and it said the industry poured money into universities around the world to win support for the idea of fossil fuels being part of an energy transition.
“Big Oil continues to conceal the facts about their business model and obscure the actual dangers of fossil fuels, including natural gas, in order to block the climate action we need,” Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, said in a statement.
“Despite knowing about the devastating effects of their oil and gas products on the planet for decades, the industry has always prioritised its bottom line and chosen low-road PR tactics over a high-road commitment to addressing the crisis.”
The lawmakers also released hundreds of documents accompanying the report ahead of a Senate Budget Committee hearing Wednesday (1 May) on “Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change.”
Among those slated to appear is Raskin, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, which previously published reports alleging that oil companies were spreading climate disinformation and preventing action on climate change.
In Tuesday’s report, the lawmakers also criticised oil majors for publicly touting costly and futuristic climate solutions like algae biofuels and carbon sequestration, while not investing enough to bring these technologies to fruition.
It singled out Exxon, which, for years, trumpeted its support for algae in television commercials and promised it could produce 10,000bpd by 2025. Exxon quietly abandoned the effort last year, as first reported by Bloomberg Green.
Exxon officials told Bloomberg Green last year that the company was pulling back on algae to focus on other low-carbon technologies like carbon capture, hydrogen and biofuels, which the company deemed were more ready for deployment.
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