The hypocrisy of Big Oil on climate commitments

Oil and gas majors, beset by fading fortunes, increased competition from renewables, and the growing clean economic transition, are fighting for relevance ahead of the Paris climate talks.

European fossil fuel companies including Shell, BP and Total, have made new pledges to combat climate change through “cleaner energy” while calling for a strong Paris deal and for global carbon pricing.

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US firms like Exxon and Chevron have so far refused to follow suit, possibly because their reputations on climate are already too far gone for greenwashing, but their European counterparts’ continued attempts to expand oil drilling and anti-climate lobbying activities don’t exactly help their credibility either.

new report by InfluenceMap analyses the huge gap between oil firms’ climate-friendly faces and the way they sabotage climate policy through their membership of obstructive trade associations.

Campaigners say that only a transformation of their business models from fossil fuels to renewables – and giving up their membership of harmful lobby groups – would show they are serious.

Background to the story

The oil and gas firm CEOs who will make climate commitments today – those of BP, BG Group, Total, Eni, Statoil and Repsol – are doing so under the umbrella of the industry grouping the The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI). So far, this group is mostly made up of European companies, while their US counterparts have refused to endorse any climate-friendly words or actions.

Some members of the OGCI previously sent a letter to Christiana Figueres calling for a global carbon price; she responded welcoming the call but urging them to more ambition and urgent action.

Many commentators from the climate sphere are cynical about big oil’s intentions. They argue that the oil firms want to polish up their climate credentials to remain at the table in the run-up to the crunch climate change conference in Paris this December, and know calling for a carbon price would be seen favourably while in actual fact it would take the responsibility for change off their shoulders and onto those of governments.

In the meantime, the companies that had called for action continue with business as usual, pumping oil and developing plans to drill despite widespread opposition and the potentially catastrophic impacts of a spill on jobs, local economies, communities and wildlife.

new report on ‘oil hypocrisy’, entitled ‘Big Oil and the Obstruction of Climate Regulations’ from UK-based InfluenceMap analyses the disparity between the stated positions on climate policy of Shell, BP, Total, Exxon and Chevron and their continued support for highly obstructive trade bodies. It uses an evidence base to highlight the clear misalignment rating for each company. Investors are already demanding that big energy companies pull out of trade bodies which lobby against climate change policy.

Climate and indigenous groups are also calling for global reporting standards for extractive industries – the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) – to include transparency from fossil fuel companies about the future viability of their oil, coal and gas projects in a warming world. The EITI board includes representatives of Shell, BP, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Exxon, Chevron, Statoil and Total.

Calling for action on climate change may be “as trendy as it gets for corporations these days”, but if the group is serious, and existing oil reserves are unlikely to ever be fully exploited due to climate concerns – as BP’s chief economist says – then why is the company pushing ahead with risky new drilling projects? Especially when oil is being tipped to hit US$10-20 a barrel.

Campaigners say only by a radical change in their business models that reflects the demise of fossil fuels and supports the transition to 100 per cent renewables will oil companies prove their commitment to tackling climate change and ensure they remain viable in the low-carbon future.

As long as these companies, from Europe, the US and elsewhere – continue to pump oil and block legislation which could hurt their bottom lines by healing the environment, their calls for climate action will ring hollow.

Andrew Schenkel, is US Editor, Global Call for Climate Action

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