Issued on: 29/10/2021
Top executives of ExxonMobil and other oil giants denied spreading disinformation about climate change as they sparred Thursday with congressional Democrats over allegations that the industry concealed evidence about the dangers of global warming.
Testifying at a landmark House hearing, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said the company “has long acknowledged the reality and risks of climate change, and it has devoted significant resources to addressing those risks.″
The oil giant’s public statements on climate “are and have always been truthful, fact-based ... and consistent” with mainstream climate science, Woods said.
Democrats immediately challenged the statements by Woods and other oil executives, accusing them of engaging in a decades-long, industry-wide campaign to spread disinformation about the contribution of fossil fuels to global warming.
“They are obviously lying like the tobacco executives were,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee.
She was referring to a 1994 hearing with tobacco executives who famously testified that they didn’t believe nicotine was addictive. The reference was one of several to the tobacco hearing as Democrats sought to pin down oil executives on whether they believe in climate change and that burning fossil fuels such as oil contributes to global warming.
Maloney said at the end of the nearly seven-hour hearing that she will issue subpoenas for documents requested by the committee but not furnished by the oil companies.
Republicans accused Democrats of grandstanding over an issue popular with their base as President Joe Biden’s climate agenda teeters in Congress.
Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the top Republican on the oversight panel, called the hearing a “distraction from the crises that the Biden administration’s policies have caused,” including gasoline prices that have risen by $1 per gallon since January.
“The purpose of this hearing is clear: to deliver partisan theater for primetime news,″ Comer said.
The hearing comes after months of public efforts by Democrats to obtain documents and other information on the oil industry’s role in stopping climate action over multiple decades. The fossil fuel industry has had scientific evidence about the dangers of climate change since at least 1977, yet spread denial and doubt about the harm its products cause – undermining science and preventing meaningful action on climate change, Maloney and other Democrats said.
“Do you agree that (climate change) is an existential threat? Yes or no?” Maloney asked Shell Oil President Gretchen Watkins.
“I agree that this is a defining challenge for our generation, absolutely,” Watkins replied.
Watkins, Woods and other oil executives said they agreed with Maloney on the existence and threat posed by climate change, but they refused her request to pledge that their companies would not spend money – either directly or indirectly – to oppose efforts to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
“We’re pledging to advocate for low-carbon policies that do in fact take the company and the world to net-zero” carbon emissions, said BP America CEO David Lawler.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who leads a subcommittee on the environment, said he hopes “Big Oil will not follow the same playbook as Big Tobacco” in misrepresenting the facts to Congress.
“As I’m sure you realize, that didn’t turn out too well for them,” Khanna said. “These companies must be held accountable.”
The committee released a memo Thursday charging that the oil industry’s public support for climate reforms has not been matched by meaningful actions, and that the industry has spent billions of dollars to block reforms. Oil companies frequently boast about their efforts to produce clean energy in advertisements and social media posts accompanied by sleek videos or pictures of wind turbines.
Maloney and other Democrats have focused particular ire on Exxon, after a senior lobbyist for the company was caught in a secret video bragging that Exxon had fought climate science through “shadow groups” and had targeted influential senators in an effort to weaken Biden’s climate agenda, including a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a sweeping climate and social policy bill currently moving through Congress.
In the video, Keith McCoy, a former Washington-based lobbyist for Exxon, dismissed the company’s public expressions of support for a proposed carbon tax on fossil fuel emissions as a “talking point.”
McCoy’s comments were made public in June by the environmental group Greenpeace UK, which secretly recorded him and another lobbyist in Zoom interviews. McCoy no longer works for the company, Exxon said last month.
Woods, Exxon’s chairman and chief executive, has condemned McCoy’s statements and said the company stands by its commitment to work on finding solutions to climate change.
Chevron CEO Michael Wirth also denied misleading the public on climate change. “Any suggestion that Chevron has engaged in an effort to spread disinformation and mislead the public on these complex issues is simply wrong,” he said.
Maloney and Khanna sharply disputed that. They compared tactics used by the oil industry to those long deployed by the tobacco industry to resist regulation “while selling products that kill hundreds of thousands of Americans.″
Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., accused the oil industry of “greenwashing” its climate pollution through misleading ads that focus on renewable energy rather than on its core business, fossil fuels. Shell spends nearly 10 times as much money on oil, gas and chemical production than it does on renewables such as wind and solar power, Porter said, citing the company’s annual report.
“Shell is trying to fool people into thinking that it’s addressing the climate crisis when what it’s actually doing is continuing to put money into fossil fuels,″ she told Watkins.
While U.S. leaders and the oil industry rightly focus on lowering carbon emissions, the world consumes 100 million barrels of oil per day — an amount not likely to decrease any time soon, said Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s top lobbying group.
The industry group supports climate action, Sommers added, “yet legislative proposals that punitively target American industry will reverse our nation’s energy leadership, harm our economy and American workers, and weaken our national security.”
(AP)
“They are obviously lying like the tobacco executives were,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee.
She was referring to a 1994 hearing with tobacco executives who famously testified that they didn’t believe nicotine was addictive. The reference was one of several to the tobacco hearing as Democrats sought to pin down oil executives on whether they believe in climate change and that burning fossil fuels such as oil contributes to global warming.
Maloney said at the end of the nearly seven-hour hearing that she will issue subpoenas for documents requested by the committee but not furnished by the oil companies.
Republicans accused Democrats of grandstanding over an issue popular with their base as President Joe Biden’s climate agenda teeters in Congress.
Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the top Republican on the oversight panel, called the hearing a “distraction from the crises that the Biden administration’s policies have caused,” including gasoline prices that have risen by $1 per gallon since January.
“The purpose of this hearing is clear: to deliver partisan theater for primetime news,″ Comer said.
The hearing comes after months of public efforts by Democrats to obtain documents and other information on the oil industry’s role in stopping climate action over multiple decades. The fossil fuel industry has had scientific evidence about the dangers of climate change since at least 1977, yet spread denial and doubt about the harm its products cause – undermining science and preventing meaningful action on climate change, Maloney and other Democrats said.
“Do you agree that (climate change) is an existential threat? Yes or no?” Maloney asked Shell Oil President Gretchen Watkins.
“I agree that this is a defining challenge for our generation, absolutely,” Watkins replied.
Watkins, Woods and other oil executives said they agreed with Maloney on the existence and threat posed by climate change, but they refused her request to pledge that their companies would not spend money – either directly or indirectly – to oppose efforts to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
“We’re pledging to advocate for low-carbon policies that do in fact take the company and the world to net-zero” carbon emissions, said BP America CEO David Lawler.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who leads a subcommittee on the environment, said he hopes “Big Oil will not follow the same playbook as Big Tobacco” in misrepresenting the facts to Congress.
“As I’m sure you realize, that didn’t turn out too well for them,” Khanna said. “These companies must be held accountable.”
The committee released a memo Thursday charging that the oil industry’s public support for climate reforms has not been matched by meaningful actions, and that the industry has spent billions of dollars to block reforms. Oil companies frequently boast about their efforts to produce clean energy in advertisements and social media posts accompanied by sleek videos or pictures of wind turbines.
Maloney and other Democrats have focused particular ire on Exxon, after a senior lobbyist for the company was caught in a secret video bragging that Exxon had fought climate science through “shadow groups” and had targeted influential senators in an effort to weaken Biden’s climate agenda, including a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a sweeping climate and social policy bill currently moving through Congress.
In the video, Keith McCoy, a former Washington-based lobbyist for Exxon, dismissed the company’s public expressions of support for a proposed carbon tax on fossil fuel emissions as a “talking point.”
McCoy’s comments were made public in June by the environmental group Greenpeace UK, which secretly recorded him and another lobbyist in Zoom interviews. McCoy no longer works for the company, Exxon said last month.
Woods, Exxon’s chairman and chief executive, has condemned McCoy’s statements and said the company stands by its commitment to work on finding solutions to climate change.
Chevron CEO Michael Wirth also denied misleading the public on climate change. “Any suggestion that Chevron has engaged in an effort to spread disinformation and mislead the public on these complex issues is simply wrong,” he said.
Maloney and Khanna sharply disputed that. They compared tactics used by the oil industry to those long deployed by the tobacco industry to resist regulation “while selling products that kill hundreds of thousands of Americans.″
Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., accused the oil industry of “greenwashing” its climate pollution through misleading ads that focus on renewable energy rather than on its core business, fossil fuels. Shell spends nearly 10 times as much money on oil, gas and chemical production than it does on renewables such as wind and solar power, Porter said, citing the company’s annual report.
“Shell is trying to fool people into thinking that it’s addressing the climate crisis when what it’s actually doing is continuing to put money into fossil fuels,″ she told Watkins.
While U.S. leaders and the oil industry rightly focus on lowering carbon emissions, the world consumes 100 million barrels of oil per day — an amount not likely to decrease any time soon, said Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s top lobbying group.
The industry group supports climate action, Sommers added, “yet legislative proposals that punitively target American industry will reverse our nation’s energy leadership, harm our economy and American workers, and weaken our national security.”
(AP)
Big Oil clashes with US Democratic lawmakers over climate 'disinformation'
Issued on: 29/10/2021
New York (AFP)
US oil industry executives faced tough questions from congressional Democrats on Thursday over statements on climate science and whether their actions on green energy live up to their marketing campaigns.
Big Oil critics in the House of Representatives likened the hearing with CEOs of ExxonMobil, Chevron and other oil giants to a famous 1994 congressional hearing in which tobacco executives testified under oath that nicotine was not addictive.
But Democrats were unable to secure any expressions of regret by oil executives in a free-flowing session titled, "Fueling the Climate Crisis: Exposing Big Oil's Disinformation Campaign to Prevent Climate Action."
Leading oil companies are on the record as acknowledging the science of climate change, supporting the Paris Climate Agreement and policies to set carbon pricing. But critics accused the industry of "greenwashing," saying actions have not matched public relations efforts.
"Some of us actually have to live the future that you are all setting on fire for us," said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat.
Meanwhile, congressional Republicans defending the industry came out swinging against President Joe Biden's energy policies which they say have led to higher gasoline prices, including a move to shut down the Keystone Pipeline.
Representative Jody Hice, a Georgia Republican, accused Democrats of "shamelessly creating fear in a whole new generation" by highlighting climate change in order to promote a "liberal socialist wish list" of policies.
Coming clean?
The hearing comes amid rising worries about climate change in the wake of worsening hurricanes and forest fires.
But Representative Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, was thwarted during an exchange with ExxonMobil Chief Executive Darren Woods.
She pointed to research dating to the 1970s in which Exxon scientists characterized climate change as a dire concern caused by fossil fuel emissions, that was followed by public statements downplaying the issue, a newspaper advertisement on climate change in 2000 headlined "Unsettled Science."
"There is a clear conflict between what Exxon's CEOs told the public and what the scientists were telling them," Maloney said.
But Woods defended the company, saying the stance was consistent with climate science at the time and noting that the fine print of the 2000 ad recommended lower-emission technologies because "climate change may pose long-term risks."
"I don't think it's fair to judge something 25 years ago by" the standards of current scientific knowledge, Woods said.
Maloney said she plans to issue subpoenas to get additional documents from the companies. She is seeking information from the companies on payments to "shadow groups" and public relations committees that have fought climate policies.
Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California unsuccessfully sought to win commitments from oil executives to quit supporting trade groups that oppose key climate legislation, such as Biden's proposals to fund charging stations for electric vehicles and to crack down on methane emissions from oil and gas production.
But executives from Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron declined Khanna's request to rebuke a fellow panelist from the American Petroleum Institute over its lobbying stances, saying it is normal to have some disagreements with trade groups.
A memo released ahead of the hearing took the companies to task over their lack of action on climate on Capitol Hill, including when former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Accord -- a stance reversed by Biden.
ExxonMobil reported only one instance of lobbying on the Paris Agreement between 2015 and 2021, while lobbying 74 times against a bill to repeal tax breaks and 36 times on US corporate tax cuts approved in 2017.
Chevron lobbied just eight times on carbon pricing legislation since 2011, less than one percent of its total lobbying over the period, the report said.
© 2021 AFP
Issued on: 29/10/2021
New York (AFP)
US oil industry executives faced tough questions from congressional Democrats on Thursday over statements on climate science and whether their actions on green energy live up to their marketing campaigns.
Big Oil critics in the House of Representatives likened the hearing with CEOs of ExxonMobil, Chevron and other oil giants to a famous 1994 congressional hearing in which tobacco executives testified under oath that nicotine was not addictive.
But Democrats were unable to secure any expressions of regret by oil executives in a free-flowing session titled, "Fueling the Climate Crisis: Exposing Big Oil's Disinformation Campaign to Prevent Climate Action."
Leading oil companies are on the record as acknowledging the science of climate change, supporting the Paris Climate Agreement and policies to set carbon pricing. But critics accused the industry of "greenwashing," saying actions have not matched public relations efforts.
"Some of us actually have to live the future that you are all setting on fire for us," said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat.
Meanwhile, congressional Republicans defending the industry came out swinging against President Joe Biden's energy policies which they say have led to higher gasoline prices, including a move to shut down the Keystone Pipeline.
Representative Jody Hice, a Georgia Republican, accused Democrats of "shamelessly creating fear in a whole new generation" by highlighting climate change in order to promote a "liberal socialist wish list" of policies.
Coming clean?
The hearing comes amid rising worries about climate change in the wake of worsening hurricanes and forest fires.
But Representative Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, was thwarted during an exchange with ExxonMobil Chief Executive Darren Woods.
She pointed to research dating to the 1970s in which Exxon scientists characterized climate change as a dire concern caused by fossil fuel emissions, that was followed by public statements downplaying the issue, a newspaper advertisement on climate change in 2000 headlined "Unsettled Science."
"There is a clear conflict between what Exxon's CEOs told the public and what the scientists were telling them," Maloney said.
But Woods defended the company, saying the stance was consistent with climate science at the time and noting that the fine print of the 2000 ad recommended lower-emission technologies because "climate change may pose long-term risks."
"I don't think it's fair to judge something 25 years ago by" the standards of current scientific knowledge, Woods said.
Maloney said she plans to issue subpoenas to get additional documents from the companies. She is seeking information from the companies on payments to "shadow groups" and public relations committees that have fought climate policies.
Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California unsuccessfully sought to win commitments from oil executives to quit supporting trade groups that oppose key climate legislation, such as Biden's proposals to fund charging stations for electric vehicles and to crack down on methane emissions from oil and gas production.
But executives from Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron declined Khanna's request to rebuke a fellow panelist from the American Petroleum Institute over its lobbying stances, saying it is normal to have some disagreements with trade groups.
A memo released ahead of the hearing took the companies to task over their lack of action on climate on Capitol Hill, including when former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Accord -- a stance reversed by Biden.
ExxonMobil reported only one instance of lobbying on the Paris Agreement between 2015 and 2021, while lobbying 74 times against a bill to repeal tax breaks and 36 times on US corporate tax cuts approved in 2017.
Chevron lobbied just eight times on carbon pricing legislation since 2011, less than one percent of its total lobbying over the period, the report said.
© 2021 AFP
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