After spending decades lying to the public and policymakers about the central role of their fossil fuel products in causing the climate crisis, major oil and gas corpora- tions now routinely deceive audiences about their commitment to climate solutions in an effort to protect their profits and social license to continue business as usual. [...] The public interest law firm ClientEarth filed a complaint against BP with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the United Kingdom, alleging the ads misled the public because of their focus on low-carbon projects when, in reality, 96% of the company’s annual expenditure is on fossil fuels — a claim that the OECD’s UK national contact point found to have merit.16 BP. [...] And we don’t have particular expertise in wind and solar and a lot of the intellectual property in the turbines or in the panels,” he said in the 2023 interview. [...] According to the 2023 Produc- tion Gap report, “gas could hinder or delay the transition to renewable energy systems by locking in fossil-fuel-based systems and institutions.”57 Despite the threat that natural gas poses to the climate, gas companies continue to invest in the fossil fuel product, promoting it as a “low-carbon” energy source and leaving consumers to conflate “low-carbon” with “clima. [...] In 2022, the oil and gas industry sent 636 lobbyists to the UN climate talks — the second largest delegation, rivaled only by representatives for the United Arab Emirates.89 That number pales in comparison to the record-setting 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists recorded at COP28 in Dubai in 2023.90 According to an internal BP email uncovered by the House Oversight Committee, oil and gas companies use lo.
- Pages
- 26
- Published in
- United States of America
