Investigation reveals scope of Big Oil’s deception and greenwashing

For instance, a BP exec in 2019 was wary of committing to the 2050 net-zero target, fearing change would impact profits. In 2018, a Shell manager expressed doubts about achieving the same feat by 2050, hinting it might be more feasible by 2060 or 2070.

Moreover, these firms continue to extol the virtues of natural gas as a ‘friend to renewables,’ despite internal acknowledgments of its climate risks. They’re even funding academic papers to polish this narrative, a classic move to dress up vested interests in scholarly garb.

The report also debunks several public declarations of support for carbon taxes and opposition to regulatory rollbacks. For example, while BP publicly decried the Trump administration’s rollback of methane regulations, their lobbyists were dutifully nodding along with the proposal in the corridors of power.

The hypocrisy doesn’t stop there, either. Records reveal widespread reluctance to cooperate with congressional investigations, with many companies heavily redacting or withholding documents. Classic guilty manoeuvre: when in doubt, black it out.

As skeletons tumble out of closets everywhere, Big Oil is facing a growing scroll of lawsuits alleging deception about the dangers of fossil fuels. The new evidence will no doubt bolster these efforts, hopefully forcing companies to reckon with their ecological sabotage.

Time and again, the industry promises the sky while delivering the dirt. Strictly speaking, we absolutely cannot give these firms the benefit of the doubt.